A recent study published in American Journal of Hematology demonstrated that Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), a widely used drug to treat anemia, may have a negative impact on the survival of myeloma patients.

Anemia drugs made by Amgen and Johnson & Johnson may raise the risk of death among those suffering from cancerous diseases, a new study says.

Anemia drugs widely used in cancer treatment increase risk of deaths and blood clots called venous thromboembolisms (VTE).

Anemia drugs sold by Amgen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson increased the risk of blood clots and death in cancer patients, the largest study revealed.

Mayo Clinic researchers today reported the discovery of a link between erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and leukemic transformation (conversion to leukemia) of the blood disorder myelofibrosis.

The U.S. Health authorities approved Swiss pharmaceuticals producer Roche Holding AG’s anemia drug Mircera, but the company is still awaiting resolution of a patent case before launching the drug in the United States.

The June issue of Elsevier’s Community Oncology takes an in-depth look at the charge that ESAs, generally considered vital to cancer patients’ quality of life, are overprescribed for profit. Scientists, oncologists, and critics of oncologists are in a heated debate now over the use of ESAs, or erythropoiesis-stimulating agents—drugs that fight anemia by boosting levels of oxygen-carrying red blood cells and the protein hemoglobin.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have determined a key mechanism by which the body regulates iron metabolism, a discovery that may provide new approaches for the treatment of anemia.

Results from a phase III drug trial indicate that an anti-anemia drug did not significantly decrease the need for blood transfusions in patients not on chemotherapy, and decreased overall patient survival when compared to placebo, according to researchers from the UCLA Medical Center at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.