Johnson and Johnson back chemo-induced anaemia report

Ortho Biotech Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has expressed its support for a recently published study regarding anaemia and fatigue arising as a result of patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The Communicating About Chemotherapy-Induced Anaemia study, published in the Journal of Supportive Oncology, found that discussions of anaemia and fatigue related to this condition occur, but are minimal, with imprecise dialogues that do not properly reflect the patient experience.

Heidi E Hamilton, associate professor, department of linguistics at Georgetown University, said: “Chemotherapy-induced anaemia is a potentially debilitating condition that many cancer patients struggle with during treatment.”

She added that some patients may be reticent regarding discussion of their symptoms as they may believe that these difficulties are an intractable part of their “cancer experience”.

The report advocates a modification of vocabulary between patient and physician in order to enhance patient care in this area and enhancement of best practices, while systemising the role of healthcare professionals in identifying and treating the effects of anaemia in these patients.

In September 2005, Johnson & Johnson reported on a head-to-head study showing that Procrit (Epoetin alfa) increased haemoglobin levels a greater amount than Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) in cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced anaemia.