Thalidomide alone or in combination: results in
refractory patients
Jesús F. San Miguel, Servicio de Hematologia, Hospital Clinico
Universitario de Salamanca, Paseo de San Vicente 58-182, 37007
Salamanca, Spain
Direct phone: +34.923.291384
Main phone: +34.923.291375
E-mail: sanmigiz@usal.es
Thalidomide was first marketed in the 1950s for the treatment of pregnancy-related morning sickness and later as a sedative, but was withdrawn because of serious adverse events in pregnant women including teratogenicity and dysmelia.1 Interest in the drug resurfaced in the 1990s because of its antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory effects.2 Recently thalidomide has been used to treat multiple myeloma (MM) either alone or in combination with other therapies. This review summarizes study results of thalidomide treatment in patients who have not benefited from conventional therapy. [>Read full article in PDF]