The mechanism underlying thalidomide's infamous birth defects is exactly the same as the one responsible for the drug's effectiveness in multiple myeloma, a researcher said here. A protein called cereblon mediates both the teratogenicity and the anti-myeloma effects seen with thalidomide (Thalomid) and two analog drugs, lenalidomide (Revlimid) and the investigational agent pomalidomide, said A. Keith Stewart, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
MedPage Today, by John Gever, 12/2011
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Tags: Cancer, Mayo Clinic Arizona