By modifying the ESA hyporesponsiveness definition in the sensitivity analysis, high baseline Hb value was a positive predictor of responsiveness both in CKD (OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5–1.0; P-value = 0.053) and in cancer patients (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.8; P-value = 0.003); that is, patients with high baseline Hb values had more chance to reach the target Hb values rather than patients starting ESA treatment with low baseline Hb values (Additional files 2, 3, 4, 5). This evidence concerns the gene GSTM1 and cancer.