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When the iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin degrades ferroportin's capacity to export iron from cells, iron absorption decreases and iron-poor erythropoiesis ensues. Interleukin (IL)-6, a cytokine associated with anemia and malignancies such as Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), stimulates expression of hepcidin. Investigators in Italy and the Netherlands analyzed the roles of hepcidin and IL-6 in the pathogenesis of anemia in patients with HL.
Among a cohort of 65 HL patients (median age, 35), roughly one third had B symptoms, nearly one fourth had a high-risk International Prognostic Score (IPS), and about one half had anemia (hemoglobin concentration <12 g/dL). Anemia was significantly associated with younger age (<45), the presence of B symptoms, and …