Chronic kidney disease and anemia in patients with hematological malignancies

Abstract: Chronic kidney disease is assessed based on glomerular filtration rate, the cause of the disease, and the level of albuminuria. Anemia of chronic kidney disease is a consequence of reduced erythropoietin production and functional iron deficiency in the body. Therapeutic modalities of anemia in chronic kidney disease include transfusions of packed red blood cells, administration of iron, and drugs that stimulate erythropoiesis. Drugs that stimulate erythropoiesis are also used in anemia secondary to myelosuppressive therapy given to oncology patients without curative potential, as well as in anemia secondary to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in the absence of chronic kidney disease. Kidney disease is present in many hematological entities, such as plasma cell dyscrasias and myeloproliferative neoplasms, and less commonly in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Waldenstrom‘s macroglobulinemia, and lymphomas, but is often not the direct cause of anemia. Treatment of kidney disease in hematological neoplasms includes treatment of the underlying disease.

Key words:
anemia; chronic kidney disease, anemia; erythropoiesis stimulating agents; plasma cell dyscrasias