close
Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;35(1):8-11.
doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2010.07.015. Epub 2010 Aug 7.

What are RBC-transfusion-dependence and -independence?

R P Gale  1 , G Barosi, T Barbui, F Cervantes, K Dohner, B Dupriez, V Gupta, C Harrison, R Hoffman, J-J Kiladjian, R Mesa, M F Mc Mullin, F Passamonti, V Ribrag, G Roboz, G Saglio, A Vannucchi, S Verstovsek
Affiliations

What are RBC-transfusion-dependence and -independence?

R P Gale et al. Leuk Res. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

The term RBC-transfusion-dependence is widely-used by hematologists to describe a condition of severe anemia typically arising when erythropoiesis is reduced such that a person continuously requires ≥1 RBC-transfusions over a specified interval. Defining a person as RBC-transfusion-dependent has important implications in diverse hematological disorders especially because it strongly-correlated with decreased survival. Conversely, becoming RBC-transfusion-independent or receiving fewer RBC-transfusions over a specified interval is defined as improvement or response in many disease- and/or therapy-setting. Whether this correlates with improved survival is controversial. We used a structured expert-panel consensus panel process to define RBC-transfusion-dependence and -independence or improvement. We suggest these definitions may prove useful to persons studying or treating these diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement

None to declare and Robert Peter Gale, M.D., Ph.D. is an employee of Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ.

References

    1. Jadersten M, Malcovati L, Dybedal I, et al. Erythropoietin and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor treatment associated with improved survival in myelodysplastic syndrome. J Clin Oncol 2008;26:3607–13. - PubMed
    1. Park S, Grabar S, Kelaidi C, et al. Predictive factors of response and survival in myelodysplastic syndrome treated with erythropoietin and G-CSF: the GFM experience. Blood 2008; 111:574–82. - PubMed
    1. Hellstrom-Lindberg E, Gulbrandsen N, Lindberg G, et al. A validated decision model for treating the anaemia of myelodysplastic syndromes with erythropoietin + granulocyte colony-stimulating factor: significant effects on quality of life. Br J Haematol 2003;120:1037–46. - PubMed
    1. Palmer SC, Navaneethan SD, Craig JC, et al. Meta-analysis: erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in patients with chronic kidney disease. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:23–33. - PubMed
    1. Rizzo JD, Somerfield MR, Hagerty KL, et al. Use of epoetin and darbepoetin in patients with cancer: 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Society of Hematology 2007 clinical practice guideline update. J Clin Oncol 2008;1:132–49. - PubMed