Summary: Oncological patients suffer from anemia very offen. For the hypoxic tumor, radiotherapy adds a second unfavorable factor. Low hemoglobin and iron levels are known to be negative prognostic predictors of treatment resulls. A simple measure, such as blood transfusion to normalize the blood count, does not change prognosis because of the indication of immunosupressi-ve mechanisms which sometimes can even worsen treatment results. The use of recombinant human erythropoietin in radiothe-rapy is discussed in the paper. Treatmet of anemia in oncological patients with blood transfusion is controversial and one has to carefully suggest both the known risks and the negative influence of immunosupression on the results of the treatment.
A Blood Transfusion Treatment for Oncological Patients Irradiated and Suffering from Anaemia at the same Time -A Critical Review. What is an alternative?
