Home         Forums  

Go Back   Marrowforums > Bone Marrow Failure Diseases > MDS
Register FAQ Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

MDS Myelodysplastic syndromes

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
  #1  
Old Mon Jul 20, 2009, 11:22 PM
kjanikian kjanikian is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Columbus,OH
Posts: 4
EPO level and Aranesp

My mother has intermediate -1 MDS (though Dr thought it had progrssed to int-2 end of May but now says it's back to int-1)
She started on Aranesp and has had 2 injections so far, she was due to have another one and her hgb was 9.1 last week but we also requested EPO and ferritin levels. The EPO was 479 and ferritin was 1000. Her hematologist said d/t her EPO level being elevated she can't get Aranesp and he is not worried about her ferritin level. I thought that an EPO level below 500 had a higher chance or working and it should be continued. (especially b/c her rate of transfusions has decreased). She has also only had 10 units of blood transfused since her dx so the ferritin level concerns me. Is this to be of concern or not? Should more of a workup be done? Thanks you for any information.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old Tue Jul 21, 2009, 08:43 AM
Birgitta-A Birgitta-A is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 1,918
Aranesp

Hi kjanikian,
Did your doctor control EPO before your mother got any treatment (Aranesp or red blood cells)? It is this early EPO result that is interesting.

When she has got Aranesp her EPO of cause increases since Aranesp is EPO.

When she has got red blood cells the EPO can decrease since anemia gives signals to the kindneys to make more EPO that stimulates the bone marrow to make more red blood cells. That means that a higher HGB after transfusion leads to lower EPO.

Many MDS patients have elevated ferritin value before blood transfusions. Did your doctor look at the ferritin value initially?

The ferritin value is always higher directly after a transfusion - I try to control my ferritin 2 days before transfusions so that I can compare all the values.

It is true that many doctors think it is better to start chelating therapy early since it is easier to control the value if the ferritin level hasn't increased too much. They look at liver tests too.

Hope this will help you to help your mother!
Kind regards
Birgitta-A
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
6 months since ATG, fair response, maybe moving to BMT? susansr AA 33 Thu Sep 15, 2011 05:34 PM
NEWBIE.....so glad to find you! slrb2152 MDS 6 Fri Aug 6, 2010 01:52 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:59 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Forum sites may contain non-authoritative and unverified information.
Medical decisions should be made in consultation with qualified medical professionals.
Site contents exclusive of member posts Copyright © 2006-2020 Marrowforums.org