An Observational Study of Anaemia Management in Patients with NHL Receiving CHOP-14 or -21 (With or Without Rituximab)

Background:CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) therapy is standard treatment for aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), and frequently results in myelosuppression. The resulting febrile neutropenia (FN) and chemotherapy-induced anaemia (CIA) may be treated with Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) and Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs), respectively. IMPACT is an observational study, ongoing since February 2007, to examine supportive care management practices in NHL patients undergoing CHOP chemotherapy. Since the beginning of this study, European treatment guidelines for use of ESAs in CIA changed: from initiation at 11 g/dL with the goal to achieve hemoglobin (Hb) within 11–13 g/dL, to, as of February 2008, initiation at 10 g/dL and target range of 10–12 g/dL. This planned interim analysis describes anaemia and transfusion outcomes from this ongoing study as of April 2008.