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Previous Volume 356:2448-2451 June 14, 2007 Number 24 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text Purchase this article Perspective by Khuri, F. R. Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

As has been the case for patients with chronic renal failure, treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) has substantially raised the hemoglobin concentrations of hundreds of thousands of patients with cancer, diminishing their need for red-cell transfusions during chemotherapy. At the same time, use of these agents has raised safety concerns because they can cause thromboembolic events and increase "the risk for death and for serious cardiovascular events when administered to target a hemoglobin of greater than 12 g/dL," according to the black-box warning that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added to the prescribing information in March 2007.¹ Therefore, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Dr. Steinbrook (rsteinbrook@attglobal.net) is a national correspondent for the Journal.

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