Erythropoietin is overused in cancer treatment

A panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration gave strong signals yesterday that it thinks the blockbuster anemia drug called erythropoietin is overused in cancer treatment and may, in fact, be shortening the lives of some patients who take it. What troubled the 17-member advisory committee most was data from five studies -- of breast, lung, lymphoid, and throat cancers -- suggesting that erythropoietin caused "tumor promotion" and shorter survival in patients randomly assigned to get it rather than a placebo. [Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 11, 2007; Page A08]