Abstract: Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and security of preoperative intravenous iron alone in patients of gastrointestinal tumor with anemia and find out the validity to reduce the perioperative blood transfusion. Methods: to collect the information of patients with preoperative anemia admitted to Beijing Union Medical College Hospital From June, 2010 to February, 2012 for gastrointestinal tumor. Patients with iron deficiency anemia were administrated of intravenous iron by the way of intravenous drip. In the morning of operation or 14th day after treatment, we review the blood routine, serum iron, ferritin, transferrin protein, liver and kidney function tests. Perioperative blood transfusion dose of those subjects was compared with that of the same period of hospitalization in patients with anemia. Results: A total of 121 patients entered and completed the study, in which 13 cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumor, 59 cases of gastric cancer and 49 cases of colorectal cancer. Application of preoperative intravenous iron improved hemoglobin level rapidly, and also increased red blood cell count. MCV, MCHC and MCH which are indicators of red blood cell were improved after treatment. Shortly after intravenous iron treatment, serum iron and serum ferritin levels were significantly increased compared with that before treatment（P<0.05）. And the patients with a hemoglobin levels before treatment <100g/L had a better response to intravenous iron compared to which with pre-treatment hemoglobin level ≥ 100g/L. Iron treatment can reduce the perioperative transfusion of red blood cell dose compared with the non treatment anemia patients with cancer（P<0.05）. Conclusion: In the gastrointestinal cancer patients with pre-treatment anemia, intravenous iron alone can increase the hemoglobin, decrease the iron deficiency of preoperative anemia patients safely and rapidly, and can reduce perioperative blood transfusion. The efficacy of intravenous iron may be affected by the degree of anemia.

Key words: gastrointestinal tumors, cancer-related anemia, iron deficiency anemia, intravenous iron