Thalidomide for Patients with Recurrent Lymphoma

BACKGROUND. Thalidomide has significant clinical activity in patients with multiple myeloma. However, its activity against other lymphoid tumors is unknown. The authors reported their experience with thalidomide in patients with recurrent/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma and in patients with Hodgkin disease. METHODS. Nineteen patients (median age, 62 years) who had undergone a median of 5 previous treatment regimens were treated with escalating doses of thalidomide (200-800 mg per day) until disease progression or prohibitive toxicity was observed. The authors measured serum levels of angiogenesis factors before and after treatment. RESULTS. One patient (5%) with evidence of recurrent gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma achieved a complete response, and 3 patients (16%) achieved stable disease. CONCLUSIONS. The current study suggests that thalidomide has limited single-agent activity in heavily pretreated patients with recurrent or refractory lymphoma.