Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for cancer patients: Increasingly restrictive guidelines and policies in the United States and Europe

Abstract

e20725 Background: Erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) have transformed the treatment of cancer-associated anemia worldwide. However, recent reports of venous thromboembolism (VTE), tumor progression, and mortality risks associated with ESA administration to cancer patients have resulted in reassessments of the safety and appropriate usage of these agents. The present study investigated the disparate factors that contributed to the transformation of ESA policies. Methods: We reviewed meta-analyses, advisory committee recommendations, manufacturer label revisions, clinical guidelines, reimbursement policies from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), updated clinical guidelines, and ESA usage trends. Results: See Table . Conclusions: The risks and benefits of ESAs for cancer patients have been reassessed, resulting in increasingly restrictive guidelines and labels in the U.S. and Europe. In response to the 2008 ESA labeling change mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European advisory committee, Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), convened to reassess the risk-benefit profile of ESAs and determined that for patients with reasonably long life expectancies, the benefits of ESAs do not outweigh the risks. Additionally, the U.S. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) revised clinical guidelines in accordance with the FDA labeling change. Therefore, FDA actions combined with the CMS reimbursement policy have provided the impetus for increasingly restrictive use of ESAs. [Table: see text] [Table: see text]