Risk of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients treated with epoetins or blood transfusions.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Anaemia is common in cancer patients, with treatments including epoetins and blood transfusions. Although an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been associated with both therapeutics, studies comparing the risk of VTE between epoetins and transfusions in cancer patients are lacking.

Methods

A nested case-control study investigated this risk using the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database. Cohort members were incident cancer patients receiving first time treatment with epoetin or transfusion. A subcohort including only patients receiving chemotherapy was created, since the formally approved indication of epoetins is chemotherapy-induced anaemia. Cases were defined as patients developing VTE. For each case up to 10 gender- and age-matched contro

SUBMITTER: Douros A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5338129 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature