Thalidomide Trial Against Lung Cancer Starts in the UK

Next month, British doctors will begin a trial of approximately 400 patients in an investigation to determine the effectiveness of the controversial drug thalidomide in treating lung cancer.

On Tuesday The Cancer Research UK charity said that the decision to go ahead followed encouraging results from a smaller trial where 40 percent of patients survived for more than a year compared with the usual 21 percent. The trial will be led by Dr. Siow Ming Lee, of University College London, who believes that thalidomide prevents new tumour blood vessel growth and also has immune stimulating properties against cancer cells and stabilises existing blood vessels. ‘Results from earlier tests have been encouraging. The outlook with existing treatments for small cell lung cancer remains poor — this is why we must look for innovative methods of treating the disease,’ Lee said in a statement. Normally the blood flow to the tumour pulses rather than flows, reducing the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment. The stabilised vessels allow a smooth flow of blood to the core of the tumour, delivering cancer-killing chemotherapy drugs and the oxygen needed for the chemotherapy to work effectively.Four decades ago thalidomide was taken off the market after causing severe birth defects in children. In the 1950s and early 1960s it was used as an anti-nausea drug for pregnant women until doctors realised it was causing limb deformities in unborn children by limiting blood supply. In previous trials, patients were given chemotherapy with thalidomide. The new trial will investigate the advantages of giving thalidomide with chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone. (Source: Reuters)