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Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review

Received: 18 November 2021    Accepted: 30 November 2021    Published: 7 December 2021
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Abstract

Cancer causes a great number of death every year in the world and has been destroying numerous happy families. Both the government and individuals spend vast sums of money on cancer, which makes cancer a great burden to the society. Due to its properties and therapeutic operations, patients with cancer are often accompany with anemia. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a preferred symptomatic treatment strategy. But, considering side effects, optimal protocol of blood transfusion for cancer patients is still in air. Though much work has been done, there are still continuous arguments on the adverse effects of blood transfusion on cancer prognosis. By reviewing these works, we focused on the essential elements of transfusion, i.e. the time and dose of blood transfusion, as well as the type and source of blood product. Though we failed to find a definite answer, previous studies indicated some clues on the relationships between cancer prognosis and these elements. Transfusion prior to surgery and reduction of intraoperative and postoperative blood demand may be beneficial. As for RBC type, autologous leucocyte-depleted RBC might have priority. However, more high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to settle those questions. Furtherly, this narrative review suggested some critical ideas on further studies.

Published in Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12
Page(s) 63-66
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Blood Transfusion, Cancer, Prognosis

References
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[7] De Oliveira Jr. GS, Schink JC, Buoy C, et al. The association between allogeneic perioperative blood transfusion on tumour recurrence and survival in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Transfusion Medicine. 2012; 22 (2): 97-103.
[8] Boshier PR, Ziff C, Adam ME, et al. Effect of perioperative blood transfusion on the long-term survival of patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diseases of the Esophagus. 2018; 31 (4): 1-10.
[9] Zhang H, Wu X, Xu Z, et al. Impact of perioperative red blood cell transfusion on postoperative recovery and long-term outcome in patients undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer: A propensity score-matched analysis. Gynecologic Oncology. 2020; 156 (2): 439-45.
[10] Cui JL, Deng JY, Ding XW, et al. Blood transfusion does not affect survival of gastric cancer patients. Journal of Surgical Research. 2016; 200 (1): 98-104.
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[18] Moschini M, Bianchi M, Rossi MS, et al. Timing of blood transfusion and not ABO blood type is associated with survival in patients treated with radical cystectomy for nonmetastatic bladder cancer: Results from a single high-volume institution. Urologic Oncology. 2016; 34 (6): 256. e7-. e13.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Rui Zhou, Liehong Yang, Ru Yu. (2021). Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review. Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research, 9(4), 63-66. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12

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    ACS Style

    Rui Zhou; Liehong Yang; Ru Yu. Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review. J. Cancer Treat. Res. 2021, 9(4), 63-66. doi: 10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12

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    AMA Style

    Rui Zhou, Liehong Yang, Ru Yu. Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review. J Cancer Treat Res. 2021;9(4):63-66. doi: 10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12,
      author = {Rui Zhou and Liehong Yang and Ru Yu},
      title = {Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review},
      journal = {Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {63-66},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jctr.20210904.12},
      abstract = {Cancer causes a great number of death every year in the world and has been destroying numerous happy families. Both the government and individuals spend vast sums of money on cancer, which makes cancer a great burden to the society. Due to its properties and therapeutic operations, patients with cancer are often accompany with anemia. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a preferred symptomatic treatment strategy. But, considering side effects, optimal protocol of blood transfusion for cancer patients is still in air. Though much work has been done, there are still continuous arguments on the adverse effects of blood transfusion on cancer prognosis. By reviewing these works, we focused on the essential elements of transfusion, i.e. the time and dose of blood transfusion, as well as the type and source of blood product. Though we failed to find a definite answer, previous studies indicated some clues on the relationships between cancer prognosis and these elements. Transfusion prior to surgery and reduction of intraoperative and postoperative blood demand may be beneficial. As for RBC type, autologous leucocyte-depleted RBC might have priority. However, more high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to settle those questions. Furtherly, this narrative review suggested some critical ideas on further studies.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    T1  - Controversial Role of Blood Transfusion on Outcomes of Patients with Cancer: A Focused Review
    AU  - Rui Zhou
    AU  - Liehong Yang
    AU  - Ru Yu
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12
    T2  - Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research
    JF  - Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research
    JO  - Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7790
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jctr.20210904.12
    AB  - Cancer causes a great number of death every year in the world and has been destroying numerous happy families. Both the government and individuals spend vast sums of money on cancer, which makes cancer a great burden to the society. Due to its properties and therapeutic operations, patients with cancer are often accompany with anemia. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is a preferred symptomatic treatment strategy. But, considering side effects, optimal protocol of blood transfusion for cancer patients is still in air. Though much work has been done, there are still continuous arguments on the adverse effects of blood transfusion on cancer prognosis. By reviewing these works, we focused on the essential elements of transfusion, i.e. the time and dose of blood transfusion, as well as the type and source of blood product. Though we failed to find a definite answer, previous studies indicated some clues on the relationships between cancer prognosis and these elements. Transfusion prior to surgery and reduction of intraoperative and postoperative blood demand may be beneficial. As for RBC type, autologous leucocyte-depleted RBC might have priority. However, more high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to settle those questions. Furtherly, this narrative review suggested some critical ideas on further studies.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
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Author Information
  • Department of Anesthesiology, People’s Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, China

  • Department of Critical Care Medicine, People’s Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, China

  • Department of Anesthesiology, People’s Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, China

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