Lenalidomide is a drug currently approved and used for treating myelodysplastic syndromes. Cleveland Clinic researchers sought to test the safety and effectiveness of using lenalidomide in 37 previously untreated older AML patients who declined standard chemotherapy.
Patients were treated with 50 mg of lenalidomide daily for 28 days, followed by 10 mg daily for 21 days until their disease progressed or they experienced toxicity. Five patients (14 percent) had a partial or complete response to the drug, and relapse-free survival was an average of five months. Researchers also point out that lenalidomide, which is taken orally, achieved more than half of the response rate that is typically seen with the current regimen for AML of IV chemotherapy, which can only be delivered to hospitalized patients.
As a result of this study, research is now underway to assess the effectiveness of a combination therapy, involving IV chemotherapy with a targeted oral agent, for AML patients.
Read the hospital news release about Cleveland Clinic’s study on lenalidomide.
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