scholarly journals Anemia Requiring Transfusion in Breast Cancer Patients on Dose-dense Chemotherapy: Prevalence, Risk Factors, Cost and Effect on Disease Outcome.

Author(s):  
Parth Sharma ◽  
Josh Thomas Georgy ◽  
Anand George Andrews ◽  
Ajoy Oommen John ◽  
Anjana Joel ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: Dose dense chemotherapy improves survival but also increases toxicity and treatment related cost. Here we report the prevalence of anemia, understand the risk factors of chemotherapy related anemia and determine the cost and time-delay associated with transfusion requirement in Indian non-metastatic breast cancer patients on dose dense preoperative chemotherapy.Methods: In this study, 116 triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients were treated preoperatively with Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide alternating with Epirubicin and Cisplatin every 2-weekly. Patients were evaluated for anemia pre- and post-chemotherapy. We examined trends in the cell counts, transfusion requirement, time to transfusion as well as risk factors associated with transfusion during treatment, along with delay in treatment due to anemia and the additional cost incurred.Results: One hundred and sixteen women with high-risk non-metastatic TNBC were treated. Median age was 44.5 years. 56.1% had stage III disease. Delivery of 6/8 planned doses was achieved in 98.3% of patients, and all 8 doses in 86% patients. Anemia was detected at baseline in 54(46.5%) patients with mild(10-12g/dl) anemia in 42(36.2%) patients and moderate(8-10g/dl) in 12(10.3%) patients. Forty-four patients (37.9%) required transfusion during chemotherapy with 55(47.4%) patients having grade 1-2 anemia and 40(34.5%) patients having grade 3 anemia. The factors associated with transfusion were low grade of tumor (OR 2.48 (95% CI 1.08 - 5.68), p = 0.025), hemoglobin post 2 cycles of chemotherapy (OR 1.74 (95% CI 1.21- 2.51), p = 0.003), thrombocytopenia grade 3 or 4 (OR 4.35 (95% CI 1.062-17.827), p = 0.034) and drop in hemoglobin after 2 cycles (OR 1.65 (95% CI 1.09-2.48), p = 0.017). Nearly one fourth of the study population had a delay between two cycles of chemotherapy due to anemia. A median additional cost of Rs 7000 (IQR-Rs 7000 – Rs 14000) was incurred on transfusion.Conclusion: Anemia is a common toxicity associated with dose dense chemotherapy during curative breast cancer treatment leading to delay in treatment and increased cost. Low grade tumor, grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia and Grade 2 or higher anemia after 2 cycles of chemotherapy are risk factors for blood transfusions during treatment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-493
Author(s):  
Jukapun Yoodee ◽  
Aumkhae Sookprasert ◽  
Phitjira Sanguanboonyaphong ◽  
Suthan Chanthawong ◽  
Manit Seateaw ◽  
...  

Anthracycline-based regimens with or without anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2 agents such as trastuzumab are effective in breast cancer treatment. Nevertheless, heart failure (HF) has become a significant side effect of these regimens. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and factors associated with HF in breast cancer patients treated with anthracyclines with or without trastuzumab. A retrospective cohort study was performed in patients with breast cancer who were treated with anthracyclines with or without trastuzumab between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018. The primary outcome was the incidence of HF. The secondary outcome was the risk factors associated with HF by using the univariable and multivariable cox-proportional hazard model. A total of 475 breast cancer patients were enrolled with a median follow-up time of 2.88 years (interquartile range (IQR), 1.59–3.93). The incidence of HF was 3.2%, corresponding to an incidence rate of 11.1 per 1000 person-years. The increased risk of HF was seen in patients receiving a combination of anthracycline and trastuzumab therapy, patients treated with radiotherapy or palliative-intent chemotherapy, and baseline left ventricular ejection fraction <65%, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in other risk factors for HF, such as age, cardiovascular comorbidities, and cumulative doxorubicin dose. In conclusion, the incidence of HF was consistently high in patients receiving combination anthracyclines trastuzumab regimens. A reduced baseline left ventricular ejection fraction, radiotherapy, and palliative-intent chemotherapy were associated with an increased risk of HF. Intensive cardiac monitoring in breast cancer patients with an increased risk of HF should be advised to prevent undesired cardiac outcomes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (33) ◽  
pp. 4222-4228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Chavez-MacGregor ◽  
Ning Zhang ◽  
Thomas A. Buchholz ◽  
Yufeng Zhang ◽  
Jiangong Niu ◽  
...  

Purpose The use of trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting improves outcomes but is associated with cardiotoxicity manifested as congestive heart failure (CHF). The rates and risk factors associated with trastuzumab-related CHF among older patients are unknown. Patients and Methods Breast cancer patients at least 66 years old with full Medicare coverage, diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer between 2005 and 2009, and treated with chemotherapy were identified in the SEER-Medicare and in the Texas Cancer Registry–Medicare databases. The rates and risk factors associated with CHF were evaluated. Chemotherapy, trastuzumab use, comorbidities, and CHF were identified using International Classification of Diseases, version 9, and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes. Analyses included descriptive statistics and Cox proportional hazards models. Results In total, 9,535 patients were included, of whom 2,203 (23.1%) received trastuzumab. Median age of the entire cohort was 71 years old. Among trastuzumab users, the rate of CHF was 29.4% compared with 18.9% in nontrastuzumab users (P < .001). Trastuzumab users were more likely to develop CHF than nontrastuzumab users (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% CI, 1.75 to 2.17). Among trastuzumab-treated patients, older age (age > 80 years; HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.10), coronary artery disease (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.34 to 2.48), hypertension (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.50), and weekly trastuzumab administration (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.68) increased the risk of CHF. Conclusion In this large cohort of older breast cancer patients, the rates of trastuzumb-related CHF are higher than those reported in clinical trials. Among patients treated with trastuzumab, those with cardiac comorbidities and older age may be at higher risk. Further studies need to confirm the role that the frequency of administration plays in the development of trastuzumab-related CHF.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Hamid Reza Mirzaei ◽  
Fatemeh Nasrollahi ◽  
Ladan Mohammadi Yeganeh ◽  
Sepideh Jafari Naeini ◽  
Pegah Bikdeli ◽  
...  

Background. Adding taxanes to anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy has shown significant improvement in node-positive breast cancer patients but the optimal dose schedule has still remained undetermined. Objectives. The feasibility of dose-dense epirubicin in combination with cyclophosphamide (EC) followed by weekly paclitaxel as adjuvant chemotherapy in node-positive breast cancer patients was investigated. Methods. All patients were treated with epirubicin (100 mg/m2) and cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) every two weeks for four cycles with daily Pegfilgrastim (G-CSF) that was administered 3–10 days after each cycle of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide infusion which followed by (80 mg/m2) paclitaxel for twelve consecutive weeks. Results. Sixty consecutive patients were analyzed, of whom 57 patients (95%) completed the regimen and no case of toxicity-related death was observed. Grade 3/4 hematologic toxicity was uncommon and the most common grade 3/4 nonhematological adverse event was neuropathy disorders. Conclusions. Dose-dense epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by weekly paclitaxel with G-CSF support is a well-tolerated and feasible regimen in node-positive breast cancer patients without serious complications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef Chahid ◽  
Xinbo Qiu ◽  
Ewoudt M. W. van de Garde ◽  
Hein J. Verberne ◽  
Jan Booij

Abstract Background Accurate sentinel lymph node (SLN) staging is essential for both prognosis and treatment in patients with breast cancer. However, the preoperative lymphoscintigraphy may fail to visualize the SLN in some patients. The purpose of this retrospective study was to identify risk factors associated with SLN nonvisualization on lymphoscintigraphy. For this single-center retrospective study, all data of lymphoscintigraphy of SLN procedures from March 2011 to April 2021 were collected and reviewed from the Amsterdam UMC database. Results A total of 1886 SLN procedures were included in this study. The SLN nonvisualization rate was 25.1% on lymphoscintigraphy at 4 h post-injection. The SLN nonvisualization rate decreased to 9.4% after reinjection. Multivariable analysis showed that age ≥ 70 years (P < 0.001; OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.46–3.53), BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (P = 0.031; OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.04–2.12) and nonpalpable tumors (P = 0.004; OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.15–2.07) were independent predictors of SLN nonvisualization. Tumor location, brand of radiopharmaceutical, injected dose and volume, experience of preparer and administrator were not associated with SLN nonvisualization. None of the patient, tumor or tracer characteristics were associated with SLN nonvisualization after radiotracer reinjection. Conclusions This study shows that risk factors for SLN nonvisualization in breast cancer patients during preoperative lymphoscintigraphy are age ≥ 70 years, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and nonpalpable tumors. Our results support the notion that SLN lymphoscintigraphy is a very robust technique that does not depend on the experience of the preparer or administrator of the radiotracer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6527-6527
Author(s):  
Racha Halawi ◽  
Kavi Patel ◽  
Ethan Tobias ◽  
Samira K. Syed ◽  
Nisha Unni ◽  
...  

6527 Background: The NCCN guidelines recommend growth factor (G-CSF) support to reduce the risk of febrile neutropenia and maintain dose density in patients receiving dose dense chemotherapy. We retrospectively reviewed growth factor utilization with dose dense paclitaxel (ddT) in breast cancer patients treated at our institution. Methods: Electronic medical records of patients treated at Parkland Health and Hospital System between 2012-2017 for breast cancer with dose dense adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (ddAC) followed by ddT were reviewed. Data on patient characteristics as well as G-CSF use and neutropenic complications were collected. Results: Two-hundred sixty eight patients received a total of 1019 cycles of ddT. Only one physician in the practice routinely prescribed G-CSF after ddT. The majority of ddT cycles were administered without G-CSF support (781 vs 238 cycles). There were no episodes of neutropenic fever in either group. The rate of grade 3/4 neutropenia was 2.1 % with G-CSF support (all grade 3), and 2.7% without G-CSF support (85% grade 3), p = 0.61. Treatment delays were longer in patients who did not receive G-CSF support, but this difference was not statistically significant (mean of 4 vs 2.2 days, p = 0.07). The number of cycles needed to treat to prevent 1 episode of grade 3/4 neutropenia was 167. Based on Medicare average sales price (ASP) for pegfilgrastim, routine use of G-CSF in our patient population would have added over $3.6M to the cost of care over the study period. Conclusions: Our results show a similarly low rate of neutropenic complications in patients receiving dose dense paclitaxel with or without G-CSF support. Therefore routine use of G-CSF with this regimen is not warranted. Judicious use of expensive medications such as G-CSF would reduce the cost of care and financial toxicity to patients, and promote high value care.


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