[Epidemiological data on anaemia during malignant affections]

FREQUENT IN THE CASE OF CANCER: According to a European multicentre study on 15 000 cancer patients, the percentage of anaemia exceeded 66% during the development of solid tumours and 72% during development of malignant tumours. The lowest levels of haemoglobin were correlated with the lowest performance status, however no treatment had been prescribed for anaemia in the majority of patients. MULTIPLE MYELOMAS AND LYMPHOMAS: The frequency of anaemia appeared just as high during these malignant affections and the correlation between haemoglobin levels and performance status was just as clear. Likewise, around one half of the anaemic patients had not been treated in an adapted or efficient manner. SIGNIFICANCE OF ANEMIA DURING LYMPHOMAS: It appeared that the anaemia of Hodgkin's disease, related to the inflammation, was correlated with shorter survival, whereas the anaemia of non-hodgkin lymphoma, related to medullar infiltration, generally affected the complete rate of response.