DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of a non-myeloid malignancy

  • The following diagnoses are excluded:

    • Acute myeloid leukemia
    • Chronic myeloid leukemia
    • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
    • Hairy cell leukemia
    • Burkitt's lymphoma
    • Lymphoblastic lymphoma
• Currently receiving or planning to receive at least 8 weeks of cyclic cytotoxic chemotherapy
• Hemoglobin no greater than 11.0 g/dL
• No other primary hematologic disorder that would cause anemia (e.g., sickle cell anemia)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• See Disease Characteristics

Hepatic

• Bilirubin less than 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

Renal

• Creatinine less than 2 times ULN

Cardiovascular

• No angina
• No congestive heart failure
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No hypertension
• No cardiac arrhythmia
• No other unstable or uncontrolled disease or condition that would affect cardiac function

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• HIV negative
• No known seizure disorder
• No known sensitivity to study agents
• No clinically significant inflammatory disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease)
• No confirmed neutralizing antibodies to epoetin alfa
• No other disorder that would preclude study compliance or giving informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• More than 30 days since prior darbepoetin alfa or epoetin alfa
• No other concurrent epoetin alfas

Chemotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• Not specified

Surgery

• Not specified

Other

• More than 30 days since prior participation in investigational device or drug trials
• No prior randomization to this study
• No other concurrent investigational agents or procedures