Feature Articles for Medical Professionals
NAAC publishes feature articles for professionals diagnosing and treating anemia. Have a comment? We'd love to hear what you thought. Feel free to contact us about an article you just read or to suggest a topic for a future article.
Dec 2007
For nearly 20 years, hematopoietic growth factors have dramatically enhanced medical treatments in the fields of hematology and oncology. In particular, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have been proven extremely effective in decreasing the need for blood transfusions, increasing hemoglobin levels, and improving the energy levels in patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia. However, recent studies have pointed to potential risks of using ESAs to treat chemotherapy-induced and non-cancer anemia, leading to intense debate on patient safety and medicare reimbursement.
In 2003, several phase III clinical trials evaluated the safety of two commonly used ESAs: epoetin alfa...
Feb 2008
The use of epoetin therapy to achieve target hemoglobin (Hb) levels has been highly successful in efficacy studies with stable renal anemia patients. From these studies, guidelines and standards of treatment have been established. However, in the typical clinical setting, treatment guidelines have...