Abstract
Thalidomide is one of the drugs which are newly used in the therapy of multiple myeloma. Its immunomodulating action and a number of additional effects have been proven in the treatment of advanced and refractory stage of the disease.
However, the best dosing scheme has not yet been discovered and is the subject of research in a number of clinical studies today. On a retrospective basis, we evaluated results for 59 patients with multiple myeloma who were treated with thalidomide in our facility, in monotherapy or in combination with corticosteroids, between 2000 and 2005.
The objective was to determine the percentage of responses to treatment in patients at different stages of the disease. Response to treatment was evaluated in accordance with EBMT standards.
The results of study document effectiveness of thalidomide regardless of the disease stage. Comparison of study data with the results of other studies shows that the effectiveness of lower doses we used is comparable with that of higher doses.