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PubMed · 11809002

Thalidomide: new indications?

B Combe
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Abstract

Thalidomide, which was developed as a nonbarbiturate sedative agent, was taken off the market in 1961 after it was linked to a spate of major birth defects. Gradually, thalidomide was reintroduced for the treatment of a few skin diseases including leprous erythema nodosum, severe mucosal ulcers (e.g., associated with HIV infection or Behçet's disease), lymphocytic skin infiltrations, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, and chronic graft-versus-host disease. Recent reports of original pharmacological properties including modulation of cytokine production (mainly reduced TNF-alpha production) and inhibition of angiogenesis have led to the suggestion that thalidomide may be useful in some inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. Several open-label studies and case reports have described the effects of thalidomide in Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylarthritis, systemic sclerosis, and a few other systemic disorders. In these indications, minor but dose-limiting side effects were apparently common. Thalidomide analogs with better acceptability profiles are under evaluation. The anti-angiogenic effects of thalidomide may make this compound valuable as single-drug therapy or as an adjunct to chemotherapy in patients with cancer, particularly those with metastases or multiple myeloma. This possibility requires further evaluation.

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Adjuvants, ImmunologicAngiogenesis InhibitorsHumansMultiple MyelomaNeoplasm MetastasisNeovascularization, PathologicThalidomideTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaJournal ArticleReview

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BibTeXRIS

B Combe. 2001. Thalidomide: new indications?. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1297-319x(01)00326-8

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