Is there a role for intravenous iron therapy in patients undergoing colorectal cancer resection?

Worldwide, colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common forms of malignancy and is increasing in incidence in many regions. At diagnosis, approximately 40% of patients with CRC are anemic, a figure that increases over the course of a patient's treatment due to many factors, including ongoing hemorrhage. Preoperative anemia is therefore associated with increased allogenic red blood cell transfusion (ARBT) rates. In the context of CRC, perioperative ARBT has been linked with adverse postoperative outcomes, including higher morbidity, mortality and cancer recurrence rates. Therefore, strategies to potentially reduce the need for ARBT have been the focus of several recent studies. We critically evaluate a recent paper that explores intravenous iron III sucrose as a treatment option for the management of postoperative anemia in CRC patients. This study is a retrospective, observational case-controlled study that was designed to evaluate whether the use of postoperative intravenous iron reduces the incidence of ARBT following CRC resection.