Can Lung Cancer Cause Anemia?

Anemia and Cancer

Let’s find out if lung cancer can cause Anemia or not. You may be anemic if you have cancer and are constantly fatigued, short of breath, and dizzy. Unfortunately, chemotherapy and radiation often have the unfortunate side effect of causing anemia as well.

Red blood cells supply oxygen to human tissues, hence anemia occurs when the body lacks sufficient red blood cells. Anemia, whether mild or moderate, can have a variety of symptoms, including fatigue and headaches. Severe anemia, on the other hand, can be life-threatening.

Especially if you develop signs of anemia while being treated for cancer, your doctor will likely examine your red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels to see whether they are too low. When it comes to blood sugar, women should have a normal level of about 12 grams per deciliter (g/DL) and males should have about 15 g/DL. If you have hemoglobin levels that are abnormally low, your doctor may order more testing to figure out what’s wrong.

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Iron or vitamin deficiency may be the cause of your anemia, even if your malignancy is unrelated to it. If you’re iron or vitamin deficient, your doctor will want to know why. He or she may then offer supplements. An autoimmune disorder like lupus, such as rheumatoid arthritis, could potentially be contributing to your anemia.

Oxygen is used as a fuel by cells and tissues throughout the body. Red blood cells are responsible for delivering this oxygen.

Anemia develops when a patient’s red blood cell count falls below a certain threshold. Because the body isn’t getting all of the oxygen it needs, the patient will feel weak and exhausted. Other signs and symptoms include having a pale complexion.

• a feeling of being out of breath
• Chest pain and headaches are common symptoms.

What factors contribute to anemia in cancer patients?

Anemia is a prevalent affliction among cancer patients and survivors. This is due to the fact that malignancies create inflammation, which reduces the synthesis of red blood cells. In addition, many chemotherapy drugs are myelosuppressive, which means that they inhibit the formation of new blood cells by the bone marrow, which is a common side effect of chemotherapy.

Anemia can also be caused by kidney dysfunction in some instances. The kidneys create a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Developing anemia can occur in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) or in those whose kidneys have been harmed by cancer treatment.

Anemia can also be induced by the loss of blood cells that occurs as a result of a bleed.

Anemia during lung cancer

Can lung cancer cause Anemia? Patients with lung cancer are more likely to have anemia? Its occurrence and severity are determined by the stage of the tumor, the time period of the disease, and any past or current treatment received. Anemia has a negative impact on quality of life, prognosis, and treatment outcome. Despite its clinical importance, anemia is frequently overlooked and undertreated in the general population.

Hematopoietic growth factors and red blood cell transfusions are two treatment possibilities. Transfusions of blood improve anemia quickly, but the effects are generally short-lived. Patients with lung cancer who get epoetin or darbepoetin alfa have higher hemoglobin levels, fewer blood transfusions, and a better quality of life.

There are ongoing studies to determine the precise relationship between anemia and chemotherapy/radiation therapy response and survival. In order for oncologists to properly treat their patients, they must be aware of the clinical significance of anemia.

Will Lung Cancer Treatment Affect Other Organs?

Oftentimes, patients under treatment for lung cancer are concerned about the effects their therapy may have on their body and this is entirely appropriate. Patients who receive chemotherapy for lung cancer can expect that there may be damage done to other organs. The most common is the blood organ or the bone marrow and that is because the chemotherapy arrests the growth of those cells, which may cause anemia, which is a low-grade blood count and can cause weakness and fatigue or low white cell counts, which can predispose a person to infection or low platelet counts, which may predispose to bleeding. For that reason, during the course of treatment, your doctor will be monitoring your blood counts and likely adjusting your chemotherapy should there be major abnormalities that develop.

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There are other organs that are also at risk for damage during lung cancer treatment.

• The most common concern is the nerves.
• The common chemotherapy that works very well for lung cancer can cause numbness and tingling to come in the hands and feet, that this does not occur for all patients but you and your physician will be monitoring carefully for this and probably make adjustments in your treatment should such damage occur. Many times, if that damage is detected early it can be reversed.
• There are other organs that are at risk for damage from chemotherapy, which include the liver and the kidneys. The doctor will obtain a blood test generally to determine whether or not these organs are functioning normally and if they are not, make adjustments in your treatment. The important thing to know is that you and your doctor will be working as a team to look at the side effects of your treatment and make plans about modifying your treatment to respect those side effects that develop.
• Finally, there are times when patients must have radiation treatment as a part of their lung cancer treatment plan and radiation can do damage to the organs at which it ends. For that reason, your radiation oncologist will make a very careful treatment plan, talk with you about what tissues might be at risk for damage, and list out for you those things that you and he or she can do to manage those side effects. Commonly, there may be a skin burn that is apparent on the skin and the area that is given radiation. Proper treatment of the skin can control the symptoms from that irritation and make it far less of a difficult thing to manage than if it’s not attended to properly.

When cancerous tumors are responsible for a patient’s anemia?

In certain cases, cancer or one of its side effects is to blame for the anemia. Red blood cells in cancer patients tend to wear out more quickly than in the general population, and they aren’t replaced as quickly as they need to be. In some cases, cancer might impair your body’s capacity to produce red blood cells or utilize stored iron.

You’re more likely to get anemic if you have cancer. Cancers of the bone marrow are most closely connected with anemia. Blood malignancies such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma impair or destroy the marrow’s ability to produce healthy red and white blood cells. Anemia can be caused by other types of cancer that have progressed to the bone marrow.

Cancers that lead to anemia are called hematological cancers. Male genital, cervical and vaginal, as well as gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancer, can induce bleeding and anemia.

Anemia, on its own, can not cause lung cancer, however, lung cancer can cause anemia.

Anemia must be treated, no matter what the underlying cause may be. Patients who are very anemic may not be able to receive their cancer therapies on time or may have to receive reduced doses of these medicines. Radiation therapy may also fail to work as planned in persons with certain malignancies and anemia.

It doesn’t matter if your anemia interferes with your cancer treatment or not; controlling it can make you feel more energetic and better able to cope with life’s challenges.

Conclusion: Because of the strong correlation between anemia and the outcome of patients with lung cancer, both the occurrence and prevalence of anemia should be considered.