2010). Under hypoxic conditions, or in the absence of pVHL, HIF accumulates in its active form and transcriptionally activates multiple genes involved in acute or chronic adaptation to hypoxia, like erythropoietin (EPO) and VEGF (Park et al. 2010). HIF‐1α is overexpressed and promotes cell proliferation and formation of abnormal blood vessels in cancer cells (Semenza 2003, 2005; Rey and Semenza 2010). Here, EPO is linked to cancer.