Thalidomide News and Research

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Thalidomide is a drug that is used to treat multiple myeloma in patients who have just been diagnosed, and a painful skin disease related to leprosy. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Thalidomide belongs to the family of drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors. Also called Thalomid.

Mutations in STN1 gene cause Coats plus syndrome

A team of Israeli researchers has discovered that mutations in STN1, a gene that helps maintain the ends of chromosomes, cause the rare, inherited disorder Coats plus syndrome.

18 Jul 2016

TUM researchers uncover molecular mechanism of thalidomide

In the 1950s, thalidomide (Contergan) was prescribed as a sedative drug to pregnant women, resulting in a great number of infants with serious malformations. Up to now, the reasons for these disastrous birth defects have remained unclear.

20 Jun 2016

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society applauds FDA's recent approval of two new multiple myeloma drugs

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society applauds the FDA's recent approval of two new drugs -- daratumumab and ixazomib -- to treat patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. These therapies are the latest in a growing arsenal to fight this blood cancer that impacts nearly 100,000 patients in the U.S. Advances in treatments for many different types of blood cancers are happening with dizzying speed and these two approvals in just one week are the latest evidence of this phenomenon.

23 Nov 2015

Innovative detector could expand use of polarized light for drug screening, surveillance

Invention of the first integrated circularly polarized light detector on a silicon chip opens the door for development of small, portable sensors that could expand the use of polarized light for drug screening, surveillance, optical communications and quantum computing, among other potential applications.

23 Sep 2015

Continuous therapy improves multiple myeloma outcomes

Patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma receive significant progression-free and overall survival benefits from continuous treatment compared with fixed-duration therapy, suggests a pooled analysis.

27 Aug 2015

$Steroid-refractory chronic GVHD trial results ‘overestimate’ treatment efficacy$

Steroid-refractory chronic GVHD trial results ‘overestimate’ treatment efficacy

Trial results for patients with steroid-refractory chronic graft versus host have overestimated the efficacies of treatments, suggests a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Haematology.

24 Jul 2015

New method could help identify 'handedness' of different molecules in mixture

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time the ability to rapidly, reliably and simultaneously identify the 'handedness' of different molecules in a mixture.

25 Jun 2015

Maintenance therapy with lenalidomide benefits patients with multiple myeloma

A large cooperative-group study directed by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has confirmed previous evidence that the drug lenalidomide delays time to disease progression for patients with multiple myeloma and is an important treatment option for patients with this rare but increasingly common cancer of the blood and marrow.

2 Jun 2015

Combination of contraceptive and cholesterol-lowering drugs kills cancer cells in a new way

The combination of a cholesterol-lowering drug, Bezafibrate, and a contraceptive steroid, Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, could be an effective, non-toxic treatment for a range of cancers, researchers at the University of Birmingham have found.

15 May 2015

New treatment combinations improve outcomes for vulnerable patient with hard-to-treat disease

New treatment combinations and targeted therapies for lymphoma and multiple myeloma are improving outcomes for vulnerable patient populations with hard-to-treat disease, according to studies presented today at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

7 Dec 2014

Three-drug combination produces better results in multiple myeloma patients

In the treatment of multiple myeloma, the addition of carfilzomib to a currently accepted two-drug combination produced significantly better results than using the two drugs alone, according to a worldwide research team led by investigators from Mayo Clinic.

7 Dec 2014

Study reveals why survival for blood cancer patients still varies between regions within Europe

Failure to get the best treatment and variations in the quality of care are the most likely reasons why survival for blood cancer patients still varies widely between regions within Europe, according to the largest population-based study of survival in European adults to date, published in The Lancet Oncology.

15 Jul 2014

Janssen seeks expanded approval of VELCADE from EU for Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Janssen-Cilag International NV today announced its submission of a type II variation to the European Medicines Agency to expand the label for VELCADE (bortezomib) to include its use, in combination with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone, for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL).

28 Jun 2014

Tel Aviv University pinpoints mechanism that causes rare and severe congenital syndrome

In the 1950s and 1960s, pregnant women with morning sickness were often prescribed the new drug thalidomide. Shortly after the medicine was released on the market, a reported 10,000 infants were born with an extreme form of the rare congenital phocomelia syndrome, which caused death in 50 percent of cases and severe physical and mental disabilities in others.

2 May 2014

Celgene subsidiary presents REVLIMID study results on lymphoma at ASH annual meeting

Celgene International Sàrl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) today announced that results from two studies of REVLIMID (lenalidomide) combinations in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) were presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

11 Dec 2013

Celgene: FIRST trial meets primary endpoint in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma

Celgene today announced that data from the FIRST (Frontline Investigation of lenalidomide and dexamethasone vs. standard thalidomide) trial was presented on Sunday 8 December, during the Plenary Scientific Session at the 55th American Society Hematology annual meeting in New Orleans. FIRST (MM-020/IFM 07-01) a phase III, multi-centre study in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma and ineligible for stem cell transplant, included 72 patients from the UK.

11 Dec 2013

Combination of anti-nausea drug and turmeric spice target cancer cells

In a laboratory, preclinical study recently published by the journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers combined structural features from anti-nausea drug thalidomide with common kitchen spice turmeric to create hybrid molecules that effectively kill multiple myeloma cells.

20 Aug 2013

Researchers develop new method that creates libraries of drug candidates, accelerate drug discovery

James Bond had his reasons for ordering his martinis "shaken, not stirred." Similarly, drug manufacturers need to make sure the molecules in a new drug are arranged in an exact manner, lest there be dire consequences. Specifically, they need to be wary of enantiomers, mirror-image molecules composed of the same atoms, but arranged differently.

16 Aug 2013

Preclinical study reveals pomalidomide shows promising results for treatment of CNS lymphoma

A drug recently approved for use in multiple myeloma is now being tested for its ability to fight central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, a deadly cancer of the immune system that can affect the brain, spinal cord and fluid, and eyes.

13 Aug 2013

Janssen receives EC approval to use VELCADE as induction therapy in patients with multiple myeloma

Janssen-Cilag International NV announced today that the European Commission has approved the use of VELCADE (bortezomib) as induction therapy (a first therapeutic option) in combination with dexamethasone or thalidomide and dexamethasone. This licence extension will apply to adult patients with previously-untreated multiple myeloma who are eligible for high-dose chemotherapy with haematological stem cell transplantation.

8 Aug 2013