Red Blood Cell Transfusion Strategies in Adult and Pediatric Patients with Malignancy

Anemia in patients with malignancy is common as a consequence of their disease and treatment. Substantial progress has been made in the management of anemia with red blood cell transfusion in acute conditions, such as bleeding and infection, through the performance of large clinical trials. These trials suggest that transfusion at lower hemoglobin thresholds (restrictive transfusion ∼7-8 g/dL) is safe and in some cases superior to higher transfusion thresholds (liberal transfusion ∼9-10 g/dL). However, additional studies are needed in patients with malignancy to understand best practice in relation to quality of life as well as clinical outcomes.