Even greater
threat for neutropenia
Simply, the more patients with cancer who are treated with chemotherapy the greater the likelihood of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN).1,2
CIN is one of the main reasons physicians are forced to alter or pause regimens3:
With incidence rates as high as 50% in solid tumors, CIN has become a major reason for the disruptions of chemotherapy regimens, leading to poor outcomes.4
Along with a risk of infections from reduced neutrophil levels, CIN brings with it the added threat of repeated or extended hospitalizations, treatment disruptions, and an overall decrease in survival.2
Expert Perspectives in CIN
Video Transcript
Dr. Lyman: As I said, when you start patient on chemotherapy, usually their blood counts are normal and their neutrophils are normal because they haven’t been exposed to the chemotherapy yet. And yet you know, based on the patient’s condition, the treatment you’re planning to give, the studies that have been done on that treatment, and again, a whole host of these risk factors that patients often have, you try to anticipate. It’s not a perfect science, by any means…So, it is anticipating something that hasn’t happened yet, if you want to try to prevent it. Because as I mentioned, once it occurs, once the patient is severely neutropenic, even without fever, the opportunity to reduce the risk is lost.
#CINSIGHTS
- Halpern MT, Yabroff KR. Prevalence of outpatient cancer treatment in the United States: estimates from the Medical Panel Expenditures Survey (MEPS). Cancer Invest. 2008;26(6):647-651.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information for health care providers. Preventing infections in cancer patients. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Updated December 16, 2019. Accessed June 29, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/preventinfections/index.htm
- Lyman GH. Impact of chemotherapy dose intensity on cancer patient outcomes. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2009;7(1):99-108.
- Gupta A, Abbasi B, Gupta S. Management of chemotherapy induced neutropenia—an unmet clinical need. Am J Biomed Sci & Res. 2019;4(5):313-318.
