The condition and the treatment

Anaemia is a condition in which a person doesn't have enough red cells in their blood to carry oxygen around the body. Sometimes anaemia can be caused by chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment for cancer.

An erythropoiesis‑stimulating agent is a synthetic version of a hormone that encourages the body to make more red blood cells. There are several erythropoiesis‑stimulating agents available: epoetin alfa (also known as Eprex and Binocrit), epoetin beta (NeoRecormon), epoetin theta (Eporatio), epoetin zeta (Retacrit) and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp).

NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk) may be a good place to find out more.

  • Information Standard