Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) combined with iron agent in treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) complicated with mild to moderate anemia.

Methods ALL patients with mild to moderate anemia were selected, and 200 patients who achieved complete response (CR) after induced response therapy were divided into control group and observation group with 100 patients in each group by coin toss. The control group was treated with iron, and the observation group was treated with rHuEPO combined with iron for 3 months. The clinical therapeutic effect of two groups was observed; the concentration of erythropoietin (EPO) was compared between the two groups after 1 month, 2 and 3 months of treatment; the levels of hemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HCT), red blood cell (RBC), ferritin (SF) and adverse drug reactions before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.

Results The results of generalized estimation equation analysis showed that the serum EPO levels of the two groups at 2 and 3 months of treatment were significantly lower than that at 1 month, and the serum EPO levels of the observation group at 1 month, 2 and 3 months of treatment were significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After 3 months of treatment, Hb, Hct and RBC levels in two groups were significantly higher than before treatment, and the observation group was significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in adverse drug reactions between the two groups (χ²=1.229, P=0.268).

Conclusion The rHuEPO combined with iron agent can regulate the level of serum EPO, increase the number of red blood cells and the levels of Hb, Hct, RBC and SF in patients with ALL complicated with mild to moderate anemia, and the drug safety is high.