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Ralph Moss Question of 11/19/99--THALIDOMIDE AND MYELOMA

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Q. I have heard that thalidomide can cure multiple myeloma? Is this true?

A. Thalidomide is the tranquilizer that caused terrible birth defects back in the 1960s. It has now been revived as a treatment for cancer, especially for people no longer responding to conventional chemotherapy. There have been reports of good results in a variety of tumors. The main mechanism seems to be its ability to halt new blood vessel growth around tumors (anti-angiogenesis).

A recent study in very advanced myeloma patients,at the University of Arkansas, showed that thalidomide had value in the treatment of advanced multiple myeloma. A standard marker of progression for that disease is the level of "paraproteins." These substances declined by at least 25 percent in about a third of the participants. Two out of 84 participants had a complete disappearance (remission) of their disease.

MILD SIDE EFFECTS

After one year, 22 percent of the patients were in remission and 58 percent were still alive. Unlike chemotherapy, the side effects were relatively mild. They included constipation, weakness, fatigue or sleepiness. Less than 10 percent of the participants reported severe side effects.

In rare cases, thalidomide may "cure" advanced myeloma, at least for a while. Overall, it is proving itself to be a good palliative drug with fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy.

We have a Moss Report on the topic of multiple myeloma as we have for most other types of cancer. Please see my book, Cancer Therapy for a discussion of other less-toxic treatments.

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. is director of the The Moss Reports for cancer patients. Dr. Moss is the author of eleven books and three documentaries on cancer-related topics. He is or has been an advisor on alternative cancer treatments to the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the American Urological Association, Columbia University, the University of Texas, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the German Society of Oncology. He wrote the first article on alternative medicine for the Encyclopedia Britannica yearbook. He is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who in Entertainment (as a film documentarian). This Web site does not advocate any particular treatment for cancer. We urge you to always seek competent medical advice for all health problems, especially cancer. Before consulting our site please read our full Disclaimer statement.

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