Once-weekly epoetin beta is highly effective in treating anaemic patients with lymphoproliferative malignancy and defective endogenous erythropoietin production.

This is an important EPO trial in hematologic malignancy patients for two reasons. It demonstrates that lower EPO levels predict response… an observation not reproduced in solid tumor patients but important to remember in hematologic malignancy patients. It also demonstrates that a weekly dose of EPO, here at a 30,000 U level, is comparable to the same dose given over a TIW schedule.

David H. Henry