Anemia is a common symptom in cancer patients and may have significant impacts not only on the quality of life but also on locoregional relapses and overall survival. Despite this knowledge, anemia remains under-recognized and under-treated in the complex of diagnostic and therapeutic measures, at the same time, suboptimal management of anemia often reflect limitations of current therapies, varying practice strategies and the lack of guidelines on how to treat anemia. Preliminary results of recent studies indicate that methods of blood loss substitution and anemia therapy may be an independent prognostic factor in cancer patients treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or combination of these. In a review article, current possibilities of perioperative anemia management are mentioned. The necessity of an interdisciplinary and coordinated approach tailored to each patient is stressed at the conclusion.

        Key words: surgery - anemia - substitution - gastrointestinal cancer- survival - quality of life.