NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. & WURZBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International Myeloma Foundation – conducting research and providing education, advocacy, and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers, and physicians worldwide - today said the European Commission has approved the use of a thalidomide regimen in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer in the bone marrow that affects production of blood cells and stem cells. Although the drug has a controversial history, thalidomide has powerful anti-cancer properties and has been transformed into one of the most widely prescribed treatments for myeloma in the United States, where it was approved in May 2006. In Europe thalidomide as a component of a combination regimen has been approved with appropriate safeguards, and is especially important in myeloma patients who cannot tolerate stem cell transplants, a standard of care in younger patients.
