Thalidomide helps pancreas cancer patients

Thalidomide slows weight loss in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, doctors said on Tuesday.

In one out of five patients with advanced disease, cachexia is a direct cause of death, but British researchers found that patients given thalidomide managed to retain their weight and muscle bulk. “Thalidomide was well tolerated and effective at attenuating loss of weight and lean body mass in patients with cachexia due to advanced pancreatic cancer,” said Dr. John Gordon, of Southampton University Hospital School of Medicine in southern England. Thalidomide was taken off the market in the UK decades ago after causing severe birth defects in children. It was used in the 1950s and early 1960s as an antiemetic for pregnant women, until doctors realised it was causing limb deformities in unborn children by limiting blood supply. Since then, the drug has been experiencing a revival as a cancer treatment. Scientists are testing its impact against lung, brain and blood cancers. Dr. Gordon and his colleagues administered thalidomide to 50 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who had lost about 10% their body weight. The patients were randomly selected to receive the drug or a placebo. After 4 weeks, the placebo group lost an average of 2.2 kg and their arm muscle bulk had shrunk by 4.5 cm. Patients taking thalidomide gained about 0.37 kg and increased their arm muscle bulk by 1 cm.The difference between the two groups was even more striking after 8 weeks. But the researchers said there was no overall difference in survival times between the two groups. Dr. Gordon, who reported the findings in the journal Gut, said combining the drug with nutritional supplements and other treatments could ultimately lead to a better patient outcome.(Source: Gut: Reuters Health: Oncolink: March 2005.)