MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Children with cancer who develop anemia during chemotherapy can benefit from a weekly dose of erythropoietin (EPO), according to researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The drug reduces the need for red blood cell transfusions and improves quality of life in those whose anemia is corrected by this treatment, according to results of a Phase III clinical trial at St. Jude. Anemia is an abnormally low level of hemoglobin (Hb), the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells; EPO stimulates production of the Hb-containing red blood cells.
The study, conducted at 26 sites in the United States, is the first large- scale study of anemic children with cancer that randomly assigned patients to receive either EPO or a placebo (inactive "drug") intravenously; and the first to measure the effect of EPO on quality of life in children, according to Bassem Razzouk, M.D., an associate member of the Department of Oncology at St. Jude. Razzouk is the lead author of a report on this study that appears in the August 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The other authors of this study include Jeffrey Hord (Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio); Marilyn Hockenberry (Texas Children's Cancer Center, Houston); Pamela Hinds (Nursing Research, St. Jude); James Feusner (Children's Hospital Oakland, CA); and Denise Williams and Wayne Rackoff (Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C., Raritan, NJ).
This study was supported in part by a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant and ALSAC. The EPO and additional research support was provided by Johnson & Johnson.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.
St. Jude Children's Research HospitalCONTACT: Bonnie Kourvelas, St. Jude Public Relations, +1-901-495-4815, orbonnie.kourvelas@stjude.org, Marc Kusinitz, Ph.D., ScientificCommunications, +1-901-495-5020, or marc.kusinitz@stjude.org, both of St.Jude Children's Research Hospital
Web site: http://www.stjude.org//