Thalidomide May Ease Diarrhea Caused by Chemotherapy

By Suzanne Rostler

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2000 (Reuters Health) - Thalidomide, the drug best known for causing a wave of birth defects in the 1960s, may ease some of the major side effects of a chemotherapy drug used to treat colorectal cancer, preliminary findings suggest.

In the study, 400 milligrams (mg) a day of thalidomide nearly eliminated diarrhea and nausea in nine patients taking the cancer drug irinotecan, according to a report in the August 12th issue of The Lancet.

Irinotecan causes diarrhea in up to 70% of patients. Up to 30% of patients will experience severe diarrhea that requires hospitalization, Dr. Rangaswamy Govindarajan, the study"s lead author, told Reuters Health.

"This is a very significant finding" because side effects are often so severe that doses of the chemotherapy drug are reduced or treatment is stopped entirely, explained Govindarajan, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arkansas.

In the study, eight of the nine patients completed treatment.

The team of researchers has launched a phase II study to assess the efficacy of thalidomide and irinotecan in a larger group of patients with colorectal cancer.

Govindarajan said how thalidomide reduces diarrhea and nausea in patients is not known.

About 130,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in the US each year. Colorectal cancers are the third most common cancers diagnosed in both men and women in the US, the American Cancer Society reports.

SOURCE:

• The medical journal The Lancet, Aug. 13, 2000; 356:566-567

 


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