( Yet another blockbuster drug could be i...)Anemia Drug Overused and Could Hasten Death in Some, Say Experts,Health

Yet another blockbuster drug could be in for some trouble times, if not exactly on the chopping block itself.

A panel of experts advising the US Food and Drug Administration has said that the popular anemia drug could indeed be overused. In some cases it could be proving fatal.

While the panel did not recommend specific changes to the official instruction for the drug's use, it did ask the FDA to gather much more data on erythropoietin's safety.

Setting a much higher bar for giving it, prescribing it for shorter periods, and avoiding it altogether in patients with some cancers are all options the agency should consider, it said.

Erythropoietin was first approved for use in 1988 in patients with kidney failure. It is a hormone the kidney normally releases to stimulate red blood cell production in the bone marrow. (Known by its nickname "epo," it has been used illegally by some athletes to boost endurance).

In 1993, erythropoietin use was expanded to include cancer patients who become temporarily anemic from chemotherapy. That use is increasing, with sales up about 40 percent since 2002.

Of the 1.4 million Americans diagnosed with non-blood cancers each year, about 75 percent get chemotherapy. About two-thirds of them become anemic, and about two-thirds of that group are prescribed the drug. Studies have shown that it raises hemoglobin levels and reduces the likelihood of needing a blood transfusion.

In all, about 450,000 cancer patients get the drug each year, said Craig Tendler, a physician and vice president of Ortho Biotech, which sells it under the Procrit name. The two other brand names are Epogen and Aranesp, a modified form of erythropoietin.

A high FDA official said his office will look into how another section of the agency approved advertisements suggesting that Procrit, a branded erythropoietin, makes elderly cancer patients more energetic and able to keep up with their
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