Improvement in the Anemia of Chronic Renal Failure with Fluoxymesterone

Fluoxymesterone was administered to 14 severely anemic patients with chronic renal failure stabilized with maintenance hemodialysis. Clinically, significant improvement in erythropoiesis was seen within 3 to 6 months of androgen therapy in 13 of the 14 patients, as reflected by a reduction in transfusion requirements and an increase in hematocrit value. The increase in effective erythropoiesis was documented by the erythroid iron turnover and was accompanied usually by either an increase in measurable serum levels of erythropoietin or a reduction in the marrow transit time, suggesting that the androgen acted primarily by stimulating erythropoietin production. This response did not depend on the presence of residual renal tissue. In the doses given (10 mg/day for women; 30 mg/day for men), fluoxymesterone therapy was unassociated with significant toxicity.