Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Oncology
  • Oncology News
  • Darbapoetin Alfa In...

Darbapoetin Alfa In Chemotherapy Induced Anaemia: Check out 5 takeaways from recent study

Dr. Kamal Kant KohliWritten by Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-04-18T11:30:10+05:30  |  Updated On 9 May 2025 12:47 PM IST
Darbapoetin Alfa In Chemotherapy Induced Anaemia: Check out 5 takeaways from recent study
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Darbepoetin alfa significantly reduces the reliance on blood transfusions while boosting hemoglobin levels in cancer patients experiencing chemotherapy-induced anemia, a recent Indian study has reported.

A recent real-world retrospective study published in Frontiers in Oncology was conducted at Narayana Super-specialty Hospital-Howrah, a tertiary care center in Kolkata, India; enrolled 523 patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors undergoing palliative myelosuppressive therapy over a six-year period.

The study analyzed electronic health records to evaluate the impact of darbepoetin alfa (Cresp®, 200 mcg subcutaneous injection by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, administered biweekly) on chemotherapy-induced anemia. The study included adults (≥18 years) with advanced or metastatic solid tumors who had completed at least two cycles of palliative myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Eligible patients had an Hb level of ≤10.0 g/dL at diagnosis, though those with Hb levels between 10.0 and 11.0 g/dL were included if symptomatic for anemia. Enrollment required at least one dose of darbepoetin alfa. The study excluded pediatric patients, those with early-stage solid tumors receiving curative treatment, individuals with hematological malignancies, patients on targeted therapy alone or with non-myelosuppressive agents, and those previously exposed to recombinant erythropoietin.

The primary endpoint of the study was to measure the change in hemoglobin levels from baseline to post-treatment. Secondary endpoints included the reduction in blood transfusion dependence, improvements in patient-reported anemia symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea, and the occurrence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) such as hypertension, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and arrhythmias.

The median age of the cohort was 55 years, and patients were divided based on cancer type, chemotherapy regimen, treatment response, and administered doses of darbepoetin alfa.

Key findings of the study include:

Significant Hemoglobin Improvement: Patients exhibited a marked increase in mean hemoglobin levels from a baseline of 8.56 ± 0.45 g/dL to 10.84 ± 0.92 g/dL resulting in a statistically significant 2.28 g/dL rise (P<.001). The benefit of darbepoetin alfa was observed consistently across all analyzed subgroups, including different cancer types (gastrointestinal, head and neck, lung, breast, genitourinary, gynecological malignancies, and others), chemotherapy types (single-agent and combination regimens), chemotherapy protocols (taxane + platinum, gemcitabine + platinum, fluoropyrimidine-based, single-agent taxane, platinum monotherapy, and others). Figure 1.

Change in Hemoglobin in Relation to Cancer Therapy Response: A subgroup analysis revealed that patients demonstrating a partial response to cancer therapy experienced the highest hemoglobin increment (2.66 ± 0.51 g/dL), compared to those with stable disease (1.86 ± 0.82 g/dL) or progressive disease (1.40 ± 0.59 g/dL). Furthermore, patients receiving more than four doses of Darbepoetin alfa showed a superior hemoglobin improvement compared to those administered only four or fewer doses.

Reduction in Blood Transfusion Dependence: At baseline, 50 patients (9.6%) required blood transfusion. Following darbepoetin alfa administration, only 22 patients continued to need transfusions, corresponding to a risk reduction of 56%.

Improvement in Anemia-Related Symptoms: Patient-reported outcomes highlighted significant alleviation in symptoms such as fatigue and dyspnea (P<.001 for both), indicating the quality-of-life benefits linked to improved hemoglobin levels after darbepoetin alfa treatment.

Favorable Tolerability Profile: Adverse events were relatively infrequent. Hypertension (5.4%), deep vein thrombosis (2.9%), and arrhythmias (0.8%) were the most commonly observed treatment-emergent adverse events.

Given the risks of frequent blood transfusions, such as thromboembolic events and immune complications in palliative cancer care, this study demonstrated that erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) like Darbepoetin alfa play a critical role in managing chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA).


Figure: Mean increment in hemoglobin (Hb) levels across subgroups from baseline to end of treatment. Statistically significant (P<.001) increment in mean Hb levels was recorded across all subgroups.

This study highlighted the efficacy and tolerability of Darbepoetin alfa (Cresp® by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories) in addressing chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) in Indian real-world settings. Darbepoetin alfa increased hemoglobin levels, reduced the need for blood transfusions, and improved the quality of life among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

GGI-CO-A1-AQS-300021457-NB-C25-1139

Reference: Chandrakanth M, Agarwala V, Sopory P, Nayak H, Parikh PM, Roy M, De R, Narayan P, Barai AT, Mandal K, Basu M, Kumar S,Uppal RS, Naqvi SMH and Desai R (2025) Cresp®: transforming the landscape of chemotherapy-induced anemia - a comprehensive retrospective real-world analysis in 523 Indian patients.Front. Oncol. 15:1418327.doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1418327

chemotherapy induced anemiaciacancer-induced anemiadarbepoetindarbepoetin alfadarbepoetin in ciadarbepoetin alfa in ciadarbepoetin alfa indian studydarbepoetin alfa efficacydarbepoetin safetycrespcresp in ciacresp in chemotherapy induced anemiacresp in cancer patient
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Featured image representing medico legal

What's the Role of Expert Opinion in Medical Negligence?

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

View All

Journal Club Today

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok