Frequency of Chemotherapy Induced Anemia in Breast Cancer Patients

Background Breast cancer is the second most common malignancy in women, worldwide. Several etiologic factors may cause anemia in a patient with breast cancer. Anemia is a prevalent complication in patients with breast cancer who undergo chemotherapy which affects the health status and quality of life in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 144 women with non-metastatic breast cancer who referred to radiotherapy and oncology department of Imam Reza hospital and met inclusion criteria were included. Data were obtained from patients’ archived documents and were analyzed by SPSS software (version16). Results In this study, 41% of patients were anemic before the chemotherapy and 43.1% of patients became anemic during and after treatment. The prevalence of post-chemotherapy anemia was significantly higher in advanced stages of cancer (P = 0.01). The chance of developing anemia were more in patients who underwent 8 cycles and AC + paclitaxel regimen, compared to the ones with 6 cycles and other regimens. There was no significant relationship between the prevalence of anemia and type of chemotherapy regimen, number of chemotherapy cycles, positive lymph nodes, co-morbidities, menstrual status, and body mass index (BMI). Conclusions Due to the high prevalence of chemotherapy-induced anemia and its effects on quality of life, even mild degrees of anemia should be detected and evaluated before treatment. Considering early interventions is of cardinal importance, especially in the elderly.