Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C1762617 (weakness)
 37,932 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neutropenia and anaemia are serious complications of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. They have a negative impact on patient quality of life and may reduce response to treatment. Febrile neutropenia, a potentially life-threatening complication of neutropenia, frequently requires hospital admission, while fatigue and weakness from anaemia reduce patient's capacity for activity. Pegfilgrastim and darbepoetin alfa, were designed to simplify and optimise treatment for patients with cancer. Once-per-cycle pegfilgrastim is as effective as daily filgrastim with respect to duration of severe neutropenia (DSN) and may have a lower incidence of febrile neutropenia than filgrastim. Darbepoetin alfa has enhanced biological activity and a serum terminal half-life three-fold longer than that of erythropoietin (EPO), which translates into rapid and sustained correction of anaemia with less frequent dosing. These novel cytokines have the potential to simplify the management of neutropenia and anaemia with fewer injections and less disruption to patients daily lives.
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PMID:Optimising management of neutropenia and anaemia in cancer chemotherapy-advances in cytokine therapy. 1456 20

Anaemia is highly prevalent in patients with cancer, and its incidence and severity depend on many factors, such as type of anti-cancer therapy. The decreased oxygen capacity of blood resulting from anaemia affects virtually every organ and tissue system in the body, manifesting in numerous signs and symptoms that include fatigue, dyspnoea, palpitations, tachycardia, asthenia, anorexia, cold hypersensitivity and general weakness. Anaemia related to cancer may also cause cognitive dysfunction, leading to decreased mental alertness, poor concentration and memory problems. There is a close association between anaemia and overall quality of life (QoL) variables, and anaemia is an adverse prognostic factor in patients with cancer. Since anaemia can seriously compromise the QoL of cancer patients and is associated with decreased overall survival time, there is a strong need for effective and well-tolerated treatment strategies. Erythropoietic agents have been proven to be safe, well-tolerated and effective in the management of anaemia in patients with cancer. Epoetin therapy reduces transfusion requirements and increases haemoglobin levels in patients with solid tumours and haematological malignancies.
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PMID:The burden of anaemia in patients with cancer. 1548 59