A trial looking at giving darbepoetin alfa to people with non small cell lung cancer

This is a trial looking at giving darbepoetin alfa to people with non small cell lung cancer who are having chemotherapy.

Doctors often treat non small cell lung cancer with chemotherapy. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is a drop in red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. If your red blood cells are low you can feel tired and breathless. Doctors call this anaemia.

Doctors can treat this by giving you a blood transfusion through a drip into a vein. They can also treat it by giving you a red blood cell growth factor (erythropoietin). These red blood cell growth factors help your body make more of its own red blood cells. Darbepoetin alfa is red blood cell growth factor.

The aims of this trial are to find out

• How safe it is to give darbepoetin alfa

• Can darbepoetin alfa help people with non small cell lung cancer

• If darbepoetin alfa can lessen the need for blood transfusions