The prevalence of anemia in patients with malignant tumors: a hospital-based, cross-sectional study

Submitted: 19 January 2023
Accepted: 6 February 2023
Published: 2 May 2023
Abstract Views: 1106
PDF: 316
HTML: 58
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Cancer is a worldwide health problem, and anemia is one of its manifestations. There are no published data on anemia among patients with cancer in Sudan. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anemia among patients with malignant tumors in central Sudan. The medical records of patients with malignant tumors admitted to the National Cancer Institute, University of Gezira, Sudan, from March to December 2020 were reviewed. Among the 471 patients enrolled in the study, 292 (62.0%) were female. The median (interquartile range, IQR) age was 55 (45-66) years. Breast cancer (109, 23.1%), colorectal/anorectal (88, 18.7%), head and neck (83, 17.6%), female genital tract (70, 14.9%), and prostate (35, 7.4%) cancer were the main cancers observed in this study. The median (IQR) hemoglobin was 11.9 (10.5-13.0) g/dl and 237 (50.3%) patients had anemia. The prevalence of anemia ranged from 31.2% in breast cancer patients to 82.9% in those with prostate cancer. Compared with males (120/292, 41.1%), females (117/179, 65.4%) had a significantly higher prevalence of anemia (P<0.001). The median (IQR) age of the patients with anemia was significantly higher than that of those without anemia (57.0 years vs. 51.5 years, respectively; P=0.003). Half the patients with malignant tumors had anemia. Anemia was more common among female patients and elderly patients.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Gouda HN, Charlson F, Sorsdahl K, et al. Burden of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, 1990–2017: results from the global burden of disease study 2017. Lancet Glob Health 2019;7:e1375-e1387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30374-2
Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 2021;71:209-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
Gardner W, Kassebaum N. Global, Regional, and National Prevalence of Anemia and Its Causes in 204 Countries and Territories, 1990–2019. Curr Dev Nutr 2020;4:830. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa053_035
Hufnagel DH, Mehta ST, Ezekwe C, et al. Prevalence of anemia and compliance with NCCN guidelines for evaluation and treatment of anemia in patients with gynecologic cancer. J Natl Compr Can Netw 2021;19:1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2020.7638
Rodgers GM, Becker PS, Blinder M, et al. Cancer- and chemotherapy-induced anemia: clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2012;10:628-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2012.0064
Bagga GCKKG. Prevalence of anemia in patients with solid tumors : a single oncology. Int J Sci Res 2020;1:2019-21.
Busti F, Marchi G, Ugolini S, et al. Anemia and iron deficiency in cancer patients: role of iron replacement therapy. Pharmaceuticals 2018;11:94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ph11040094
Wilson MJ, Dekker JWT, Harlaar JJ, et al. The role of preoperative iron deficiency in colorectal cancer patients: prevalence and treatment. Int J Colorectal Dis 2017;32:1617-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-017-2898-1
Xu H, Xu L, Page JH, et al. Incidence of anemia in patients diagnosed with solid tumors receiving chemotherapy, 2010-2013. Clin Epidemiol 2016;8:61-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/CLEP.S89480
Macciò A, Madeddu C, Gramignano G, et al. The role of inflammation, iron, and nutritional status in cancer-related anemia: results of a large, prospective, observational study. Haematologica 2015;100:124-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2014.112813
Abd H, Suliman E. Complete blood count of sudanese females with breast cancer attending radiation and isotope center in khartoum state. Int J Humanit Soc Sci Educ 2018;5
Vadhan TS, Agrawal V, Shewalkar BK. Evaluation of hemoglobin level among various cancer patients - our institute experience. JOURNAL? 2019;4421:338-40.
Cheng Z, Yan M, Lu Y, Pan XT. Expression of serum BMP6 and hepcidin in cancer-related anemia. Hematology 2020;25:134-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16078454.2020.1738098
De Castro J, Gascón P, Casas A, et al. Iron deficiency in patients with solid tumours: prevalence and management in clinical practice. Clin Transl Oncol 2014;16:823-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-013-1155-5
Kenar G, Köksoy EB, Ürün , Utkan G. Prevalence, etiology and risk factors of anemia in patients with newly diagnosed cancer. Support Care Cancer 2020;28:5235-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05336-w
Almehmadi M, Salih M, Elmissbah TE, et al. Prevalence of anemia among Saudi patients with solid cancers at diagnosis in King Faisal Hospital, Taif Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PLoS One 2021;16:e0246202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246202
Zaninetti C, Klersy C, Scavariello C, et al. Prevalence of anemia in hospitalized internal medicine patients: Correlations with comorbidities and length of hospital stay. Eur J Intern Med 2018;51:11-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2017.11.001
Kifle E, Hussein M, Alemu J, Tigeneh W. Prevalence of Anemia and associated factors among newly diagnosed patients with solid malignancy at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Radiotherapy Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Adv Hematol 2019;2019:8279789. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8279789
Ahmed Y, Okwesili A, Malami I, et al. Some haematological and haemostatic parameters among women with cervical cancer in Sokoto , North Western Nigeria. Sokoto J Med Lab Sci 2017;2:236-51.
Chalya G, Mbunda F, Chalya PL. Knowledge, practice and factors associated with poor compliance with universal precautions among healthcare workers at Bugando medical centre, Mwanza, Tanzania. Tanzan J Health Res 2016;18:1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v18i3.3
Hassan MJ, Rahman M, Imteyaz SP, et al. A clinical and hematological profile in geriatric patients with special emphasis on morphological and etiological classification of anemia in these patients -a pilot study. JK Sci 2020;22:187-92.
Wassie M, Aemro A, Fentie B. Prevalence and associated factors of baseline anemia among cervical cancer patients in tikur anbesa specialized hospital, Ethiopia. BMC Womens Health 2021;21:36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01185-9
Khougali HS, Albashir AA, Daffaalla HN, Salih M. Demographic and clinicopathological patterns of colorectal cancer at the National Cancer Institute, Sudan. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2019;7:146-50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_138_18
Almorish MAW. Characteristics of anemia in malignant disorders in Sana’a - Yemen. Pan Arab J Oncol 2019;12:24-8.
Chen C, Hu L, Li X, Hou J. Preoperative anemia as a simple prognostic factor in patients with urinary bladder cancer. Med Sci Monit 2017;23:3528-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.902855
Beale AL, Penney MD, Allison MC. The prevalence of iron deficiency among patients presenting with colorectal cancer. Colorectal Dis 2005;7:398-402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-1318.2005.00789.x
Shin NR, Lee YY, Kim SH, et al. Prognostic value of pretreatment hemoglobin level in patients with early cervical cancer. Obstet Gynecol Sci 2014;57:28-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5468/ogs.2014.57.1.28
Anand S, Burkenroad A, Glaspy J. Workup of anemia in cancer. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol 2020;18:640-6.
Ludwig H, Müldür E, Endler G, Hübl W. Prevalence of iron deficiency across different tumors and its association with poor performance status, disease status and anemia. Ann Oncol 2013;24:1886-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdt118
Ho CY, Ibrahim Z, Zaid ZA, et al. Clinical malnutrition predictive model among gynecologic cancer patients prior to elective operation: a cross-sectional study. Clin Nutr 2021;40:4373-79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.01.008

How to Cite

O. Abuidris, D., Abdelbagi, O., Altayeb, R., Elrashid Yagoub, H., Al-Wutayd, O., Adam, I., & Alorini, M. (2023). The prevalence of anemia in patients with malignant tumors: a hospital-based, cross-sectional study. Italian Journal of Medicine, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2023.1571