title: Thalidomide plus monthly high-dose dexamethasone in chemorefractory myeloma. Results of a phase II clinical study.
abstract: Thalidomide is a potent anti-myeloma drug which can produce up to a 30-50% overall response rate (ORR) in pre-treated, chemorefractory multiple myeloma. Most authors agree with using 200 mg/daily with associated high dose dexamethasone (40 mg/daily x 4 days, 3 times monthly) considering lower doses investigational. We report our experience using thalidomide 100 mg/daily plus dexamethasone 40 mg/daily once a month, in 27 pre-treated patients. Thalidomide dose excalation and/or association with other drugs were established on the basis of the patient's response. Median age was 69 years (range 50-83 years) and 16 male and 11 female patients were treated. All patients had received more than 1 treatment line (range 1-5). Thalidomide was increased up to 300 mg/daily in 10 patients and 1 patient received up to 400 mg/daily. Two patients were not evaluable because of early death, 1 did not tolerate thalidomide because of pulmonary and neurological side-effects. Sixteen patients responded to this treatment, with an ORR of 66%. The combination of low-dose thalidomide plus monthly high-dose dexamethasone in chemorefractory myeloma showed interesting palliative results. According to our data, increasing thalidomide dosage and/or adding further drugs does not generally produce significant improvement.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Toscano Tumori, Oncology Department and Clinical Laboratory Department, S. Giuseppe Hospital, Empoli, Florence, Italy. p.bernardeschi@usl11.tos.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bernardeschi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giustarini
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Montenora
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Turrisi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dentico
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Turano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiorentini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D013792:Thalidomide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D013792:Thalidomide; D003907:Dexamethasone