Population
tumours, bleeding, anaemia, fatigue
TUMOURS, BLEEDING, ANAEMIA, HAEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCY
Anaemic people with histologically or radiologically proven solid epithelial
tumours not amenable to curative treatment were recruited. Participant inclusion
criteria included anaemia according to the WHO definition (haemoglobin
<130 g/L men and <120 g/L women), a fatigue score ⩾4 out of 10 on a linear
scale (0 no fatigue, 10 worst fatigue imaginable) and an ECOG performance status
⩽2. People with a haematological malignancy, those who had received intravenous
iron in the preceding 3 months, an allogenic blood transfusion in the last
2 weeks, or those with signs of active bleeding were excluded. Those who had
undergone chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy and/or radiotherapy within 8 weeks
were also excluded due to the confounding myelosuppressive effect of these
treatments. Participants taking oral iron were required to stop 1 week before
their infusion and for the duration of enrolment. Full inclusion/exclusion
criteria are listed in 