title: [Factors affecting the response of thalidomide therapy for patients with multiple myeloma].
abstract: Factors that affect the response of multiple myeloma patients to thalidomide were evaluated in 40 patients who were not eligible for chemotherapy (untreated: 14, relapse/refractory: 26). The complete response (CR) rate was 2.5%; partial response (PR) 50.0%; minimal response (MR) 25.0%; no change (NC) 12.5%; and progressive disease 10.0%. The response to thalidomide could be evaluated after four weeks of treatment. Significantly higher responses were associated with untreated patients, patients with combined use of thalidomide plus dexamethasone, and patients with kappa light chain. Patients who responded well to thalidomide showed a significantly higher progression-free survival (PFS) rate. In patients with kappa light chain, PFS and overall survival rates were significantly higher than those with lambda light chain. Frequent adverse reactions were numbness (47.5%), constipation (32.5%), and eruption (30.0%). In patients previously treated with vincristine, numbness occurred in a significantly higher percentage of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Munehiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agata
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sameshima
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishiyama
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasunami
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kazama
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshinaga
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiseki
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sagawa
authors.forename: Masanao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teramura
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Motoji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003248:Constipation / Q000139:chemically induced; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000139:chemically induced; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; D007146:Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D013792:Thalidomide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; D007146:Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains; D013792:Thalidomide; D003907:Dexamethasone