ArticlePorto biomedical journal
Transfusion practices in patients with advanced cancer: a retrospective study in a palliative care service.
Article in Porto biomedical journal. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Red blood cell transfusions in advanced cancer near the end-of-life: narrative review.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2026Review
- Blood Transfusion in End-of-Life Cancer Care: Clinical Evidence, Patient Blood Management and Goal-Concordant Practice.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Care trajectories of women with advanced breast cancer at the end of life.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2026Article
- Effects of early palliative care intervention on medical resource use among end-of-life patients.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025Article
- Red cell transfusions in patients with cancer in palliative care: a multicentric study.Porto biomedical journalArticle
- Blood Transfusions in Patients with Advanced Cancer at the End-of-Life: Are They Really Beneficial?Indian journal of palliative careArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Anemia is highly prevalent in patients with advanced cancer and adversely affects the quality of life. There are limited data on the frequency, clinical utility, and effectiveness of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and no randomized controlled clinical trials or clinical practice guidelines are available. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinician practices on RBC transfusion in an oncologic palliative care service and its impact on patients' symptoms, adverse events, and overall survival. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all patients with advanced cancer who received RBC transfusions admitted for 3 years. Preblood counts, the reason for transfusion, subjective benefit, and objective outcomes were listed. Results: We identified 179 patients who underwent RBC transfusions. The mean age was 67 years, and 60% were male. We found a total of 435 RBC units in 301 transfusion episodes. Asthenia/fatigue was the most frequent symptom (68%). The mean pretransfusion hemoglobin (Hb) was 6.85 g/dL, and 48% of patients had a Hb above 7 g/dL. The symptomatic benefit was achieved in 36% of patients. Adverse events were reported in 4%, with a 30-day survival rate of 57%. A statistically significant association was found between Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) and the symptomatic benefit ( Conclusion: This study suggests that patients with advanced cancer with a higher functioning level may benefit more from RBC transfusion. Post-transfusion symptomatic benefits and pretransfusion ECOG-PS and Hb levels are independent predictors of survival. Further studies are needed to develop validated measures of objective functional changes to evaluate transfusions' clinical impact and identify patients most likely to benefit from it.
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