The Safety and Effectiveness of PROCRIT (Epoetin Alfa) in Patients Undergoing Elective Major Abdominal and/or Pelvic Surgery

The primary purpose of the study is to compare the effect of perioperative (the time period describing the duration of a participants surgical procedure) administration of PROCRIT to that of Standard of Care (SOC) on the proportion of participants receiving pRBC (packed red blood cells) transfusions (from the day of surgery to the day of hospital discharge) in participants undergoing elective major abdominal and/or pelvic surgery. Standard of Care is defined as the treatment of participants according to the hospital or institution's policy, but where participants will not receive PROCRIT (Epoetin alfa) or any other erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) (agents that stimulate the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow).

This is a randomized (the study medication is assigned by chance), parallel-arm (each group of participants will be treated at the same time), open-label (all people know the identity of the intervention), multicenter study. The study consists of screening phase of 21 days, treatment phase of 15 days, follow-up phase of 28 days. Approximately 110 participants undergoing elective major abdominal and/or pelvic surgery will be enrolled. During the Treatment Phase, eligible participants will be randomly assigned (participants are assigned to a treatment group based on chance) in a 1:1 ratio to either PROCRIT (Epoetin alfa) or the Standard of Care (SOC) group that will not receive any erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). Participants will undergo surgery during the Treatment Phase. After surgery, all participants will stay in the study for 4 days (or until hospital discharge) and followed for an additional 28 days (Follow-up Phase). Safety evaluations will include assessment of adverse events, clinical laboratory tests, electrocardiogram, vital signs, and physical examination which will be monitored throughout the study. The duration of the study for each participant will be approximately 64 days.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria: - Scheduled to undergo elective major abdominal and/or pelvic surgery with anticipated significant perioperative ((the time period describing the duration of a participants surgical procedure) blood loss (eg, greater than 500 cc and at increased risk for blood transfusion) - Hemoglobin greater than 10 g/dL and less than or equal to 13 g/dL at screening (Day -13 \[13 days prior to surgery\] to Day -11) and baseline (Day -10) - Patients with reproductive potential and their partners must practice an effective method of birth control (eg, prescription oral contraceptives, contraceptive injections, intrauterine device, double-barrier method, contraceptive patch, partner sterilization) before entry and throughout the study - Female patients with reproductive potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test within 7 days of the first dose of PROCRIT - Adequate renal (kidney) and adequate hepatic (liver) function assessed within the 21-day screening period Exclusion Criteria: - No severe Congestive Heart Failure (New York Heart Association Class IV) - No known severe stable or unstable coronary artery disease, or unstable angina - No history of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE) within 12 months before study entry (prior superficial thrombophlebitis is not an exclusion criterion) - No history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), transient ischemic attack (TIA), Acute coronary syndrome (unstable Angina, myocardial Infarction), or other arterial thrombosis within 6 months before study entry - Not anticipated to donate perioperative autologous blood or receive transfusions within 21 days prior to baseline or to have greater than 6 transfusions perioperatively - No prior treatment with PROCRIT or any erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) within the previous month