Deceptive Advertising, Journal Alleges

The ads are everywhere. Smiling people in picturesque settings with the energy to enjoy life even though they're undergoing chemotherapy. Why? Their peppy outlook is due to Aranesp, the anti-anemia drug made by Amgen, the ads say.

That's not what the medical evidence says. In a study that appeared this week in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, physicians at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston report that anemia "is not one of the major contributors to fatigue in patients with cancer receiving palliative care." Numerous studies have appeared in the medical literature -- mostly funded by Amgen -- claiming that taking erythropoietin to raise red blood cell counts (the drug form is sold under the Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp labels) will decrease fatigue.

Fatigue among cancer patients "is a multidimensional symptom," caused by depression and anxiety, pain, infections, inactivity and all the other things that might make someone who is very sick "tired." Maybe the last thing in the world they need is another drug.

The editor of the journal, Charles von Gunten, wrote an angry editorial condemning Amgen's massive advertising campaign. "These data will help physicians resist the patient and family pressure to use erythropoietin because they saw it on television. There are different things that can be done to relieve fatigue. Erythropoietin is ineffective in relieving fatigue if anemia is not the cause. It is an expensive placebo."

Well said.