Klin Farmakol Farm. 2005;19(1):43-46

Thalidomide

Roman Hájek^2,1, MUDr. Vladimír Maisnar Ph.D³, Marta Krejčí²

¹ Kardiochirurgická klinika FN a LF UP v Olomouci

² Interní hematoonkologická klinika LF MU a FN Brno

³ II. interní klinika, odd. klinické hematologie FN Hradec Králové

The era of novel biologically-based therapies for MM began in the late 1990s with the finding of a strong anti-myeloma effect of thalidomide and the finding that bone marrow microenvironment plays a key role in promoting growth, survival, drug resistance, and migration of myeloma cells. Novel therapies in myeloma represented by thalidomide interfere with these processes in a variety of ways. They inhibit myeloma growth and induce cell death. Newer therapies are known as antiangiogenic drugs and/or immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs). Thalidomide was shown extraordinarity clinically effective in patients with multiple myeloma. This drug is also being evaluated in other haematological and solid tumours. Worldwide thalidomide is on routinely used in relapsed patients with multiple myeloma as monotherapy or in combination with corticosteroids. Treatment of other cancers has so far been only experimental despite promising results in other heamatological and in solid malignancies.

Keywords: Key words: myeloma, immunomodulatory drugs, angiogenesis, thalidomide.

Published: January 1, 2006  Show citation