• Hideki Kato, Masaomi Nangaku, Hideki Hirakata, Takashi Wada, Terumasa Hayashi, Hiroshi Sato, Yasushi Yamazaki, Takao Masaki, Tatsuo Kagimura, Hiroyasu Yamamoto, Hiroki Hase, Masahiro Kamouchi, Enyu Imai, Kyoichi Mizuno, Manabu Iwasaki, Tadao Akizawa, Yoshiharu Tsubakihara, Shoichi Maruyama, and Ichiei Narita.
• Division of Nephrology and Endocrinology, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
• Clin. Exp. Nephrol. 2018 Feb 1; 22 (1): 78-84.

BackgroundRenal anemia is an important complication in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as well as in dialysis patients. Although recombinant human erythropoietin has dramatically improved prognosis and quality of life in these patients, there have been issues among non-dialysis CKD patients who exhibit hyporesponsiveness to erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA). The causes and definition of ESA hyporesponsiveness, as well as the incidence of renal and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in such patients, are yet to be clarified.MethodsThis ongoing trial is a multicenter, prospective, observational study of non-dialysis CKD patients with renal anemia. The primary objective is to survey the current realities of the therapy with ESA in Japan and evaluate the correlation between hyporesponsiveness to darbepoetin alfa and CKD progression. The secondary objective is to investigate relationship between ESA hyporesponsiveness and CVD events based on the clinical situation in Japan, and to explore an ESA response index.ResultsThe subjects consist of CKD patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 who present renal anemia. The target number of registered cases is 2000 patients, based on estimates of incidences of renal and CVD events from past studies. Renal function and CVD events will be observed for 96 weeks after the initiation of darbepoetin alfa administration. Definitions of ESA hyporesponsiveness will also be investigated.ConclusionBy clarifying markers and factors involved in ESA hyporesponsiveness and their relationships with renal and CVD events, this ongoing study aims to improve evidence-based therapies for renal anemia in non-dialysis CKD patients.

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