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www.fdanews.com/articles/73520-thalidomide-treatment-proves-better-than-chemotherapy-for-multiple-myeloma

THALIDOMIDE TREATMENT PROVES BETTER THAN CHEMOTHERAPY FOR MULTIPLE MYELOMA

June 21, 2005

Researchers from the University of Bologna, Italy, have demonstrated that Thal-Dex (thalidomide used in combination with dexamethasone) is more powerful than conventional chemotherapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Most patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma have less than five years to live; however, many can undergo autologous (self-donor) stem cell transplants to help prolong survival. Because the odds for a successful transplant increase as the number of cancer cells decreases, patients receive chemotherapy a few months before the procedure. In this study, 100 multiple myeloma patients given Thal-Dex before transplant were compared to 100 patients given traditional chemotherapy with VAD (a combination of three drugs: vincristine, adriamycin, and dexamethasone).

Thal-Dex patients were more likely to have successful results; 76 percent received at least a partial remission. Of the VAD patients, only 52 percent had a positive response to treatment, meaning that nearly half had either no response, or a progression of their disease. Patients taking Thal-Dex also had a more profound reduction in the size of their tumors.

The findings will be published in the July 1, 2005, issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.