Strong data for Pharmion's thalidomide in MM

The USA's Pharmion Corp says that data presented at the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Atlanta, Georgia, demonstrates that the addition of thalidomide to standard therapy improves overall survival in patients with newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Pharmion noted that median overall survival in the thalidomide plus standard therapy arm of the trial was approximately 54 months, compared to 32 and 39 months, respectively, for the melphalan plus prednisone and melphalan and transplantation groups.

At the time of analysis, thalidomide treatment was well-tolerated by the majority of patients though, in combination with other treatments, was associated with more venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, the firm stated. Patients taking thalidomide were also at more risk of developing peripheral neuropathy, neutropenia and constipation.