A new study casts doubt on the value of thalidomide against bone-marrow cancer. The drug that caused ghastly birth defects a generation ago has been brought back in recent years as a promising cancer treatment.
But it did not do well in a large study done by researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. They looked at newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma patients who were given thalidomide on top of an already-grueling chemotherapy regimen. The study is reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. It was paid for by Celgene, maker of the Thalomid brand of thalidomide, and the National Cancer Institute
