ASCO and ASH Release Updated Guideline on the Use of Chemotherapy-Related Anemia Treatments in Cance...(s not receiving chemotherapy since...),Health

chemotherapy since recent trials have shown increased thromboembolic

risks and decreased survival under these circumstances.

"As new data become available, it is important to update clinical practice guidelines to ensure that physicians make treatment decisions based upon the most up-to-date available evidence," said Alan E. Lichtin, MD, guideline panel co-chair and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. "However, new evidence can also reinforce previous recommendations, as it did in this guideline."

ESAs carry an increased risk for blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks in some patients under certain conditions, spurring the FDA to call for new drug warning labels this past March. Following the FDA's warning, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a National Coverage Decision this summer, outlining the specific conditions under which use of ESAs would be reimbursed for cancer patients.

"We hope that these evidence-based recommendations will influence practice standards and result in better care for patients," said Samuel Silver, MD, ASH Executive Committee Councillor, Chair, ASH Subcommittee on Reimbursement, and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In developing the guideline update, panel members considered two meta-analyses that reviewed close to 60 randomized clinical trials. Additional evidence was considered when it was considered pertinent to each section of the updated guideline.

The guideline is published ahead of print on the Web sites of Blood, ASH's scientific journal (http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-2007- 08-109488v1), and ASCO's Journal of Clinical Oncology (http://www.jco.or
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