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Managing Anemia in a Breast Cancer Patient on Chemotherapy

 |  Dr. Gunjesh Kumar Singh  |  397 Views

Anemia is one of the most common comorbidities associated with malignant diseases, and its prevalence may further increase during the course of diagnostic evaluations and therapeutic interventions.1 Various factors are known to be involved in anemia development, and these relate directly to the tumor itself (blood loss, bone marrow infiltration or nutritional deficiencies) or to anticancer treatment. Anemia is a common occurrence in breast cancer; its prevalence depends on the extent of the disease and the type and duration of therapy. In the past, blood transfusions were the mainstay of anemia treatment. In recent years, the introduction of recombinant human erythropoietin has provided an effective and convenient approach for the treatment of anemia, while mitigating the risks of blood transfusion.