Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - National Cancer Institute - Department of Pediatric Oncology

Introduction Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHSCT) is potentially curative treatment for many patients with hematological malignancy. As a result of the myeloablative conditioning, almost all patients experience prolonged anemia and will require red blood cell transfusions. In this study, we report the results of the use of Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) therapy for treatment of anemia in different hematological malignancies, evaluating the efficacy and safety of administration in pediatric patients undergoing AHSCT. Patients and Methods This was a prospective double arm randomized controlled study of consecutive pediatric cancer patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT at the Children{u2019}s Cancer Hospital Egypt (CCHE 57357) between 2015 and 2017 with a minimum follow up duration of one year post transplant. All eligible patients received myeloablative conditioning. All patients had matched related donors. Erythropoietin therapy was initiated at Day + 14 and continued till Day +100 with a dose of 150 U/kg 3 times per week, till hemoglobin of 12 g/dL then the dose was modified to 150 U/kg twice weekly. The primary outcome measures of this study were the median time to achieve the target hemoglobin level ({u2265}12 g/dL) and proportion of complete responders (reaching hemoglobin {u2265}12 g/dL) between Day +14 to Day +100 for patients receiving Rh Erythropoietin. Secondary end points were the proportion of patients requiring red blood cell transfusions and the total number of RBC transfusions between Day +14 and Day +100 and the area under the curve of hemoglobin between Day +14 and Day +100 after transplantation

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