Loading...
Among patients with the Δ5q variant of myelodysplasia (MDS), treatment with lenalidomide (Revlimid; an analogue of thalidomide) often decreases the need for red cell transfusions; about 83% of Δ5q MDS patients have erythropoietic responses to lenalidomide. In a recent open-label multi-institutional study, U.S. university and industry investigators evaluated lenalidomide’s effectiveness in treating other types of MDS.
Low-risk non-Δ5q MDS patients were recruited (baseline International Prognostic Scoring System [IPSS] category was confirmed to be low or intermediate-1 in 79%); 22% had clonal cytogenetic abnormalities. All 214 participants received lenalidomide (10 mg, given either every day or for 21 days followed by 7 days without medication…