Public Release: 26-Jun-2007

Many cancer patients, suffering from fatigue and symptomatic anemia as side effects of their disease and its treatment, are prescribed ESAs—also known as EPO (epoetin alfa, or Procrit) and DARB (darbepoetin alfa, or Aranesp). New data—mostly from studies of off-label uses—on potentially dangerous side effects such as blood clots, and on survival rates, are prompting some scientists to recommend that the US Food and Drug Administration effectively curtail the use of ESAs. Adding fuel to this debate is the fact that the drugs are costly, and some critics have accused oncologists of overprescribing them, swayed by drug company rebates.