Recombinant human erythropoietin and the risk of thrombosis in patients receiving thalidomide for multiple myeloma

Abstract

Among 199 patients treated with thalidomide for multiple myeloma, four thromboses occurred in 49 cases during erythropoietin therapy (prevalence 8.1%; annual rate 7.25%), and another 14 events occurred in patients not on erythropoietin (9.3%; 7.56%). Thus, erythropoietin would seem not to increase the risk of thrombosis of myeloma patients receiving thalidomide.