Lenalidomide as a novel treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.

Yiming Chen, Gautam Borthakur

Expert opinion on investigational drugs 2013 Mar

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Lenalidomide is an oral immunomodulatory drug derived from thalidomide. This drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for transfusion-dependent anemia due to low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) associated with deletion 5q abnormality with or without additional cytogenetic abnormalities and multiple myeloma in combination with dexamethasone. Trials have been conducted for its use in higher-risk MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The pharmacokinetic and mechanism of action are discussed and clinical studies of lenalidomide in AML are reported herein in detail. An overview of safety and tolerability is also presented. Lenalidomide has clinical activity in AML with manageable toxicity. The population that would benefit from lenalidomide and optimal dose needs to be better defined. Recent trials have focused on combining lenalidomide with other agents active in MDS and AML and promising data are emerging.

Citation

Yiming Chen, Gautam Borthakur. Lenalidomide as a novel treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Expert opinion on investigational drugs. 2013 Mar;22(3):389-97