LENALIDOMIDE: RECENT ARMAMENTARIUM IN MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA

Lenalidomide is an analogue of thalidomide. It is an oral immunomodulatory compound with potent activity and different toxicity profile than thalidomide. Lenalidomide is one of the novel drug agents used to treat multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cell malignancy characterized by excess monotypic plasma cells in the bone marrow. Lenalidomide in combination with dexamethasone is one of the most promising MM novel treatment options. It induces at least additive direct cytotoxicity in multiple myeloma cells. The lenalidomide has possibility of being used as an adjuvant in support of more specific immunotherapeutic interventions including cancer chemotherapy, anticancer vaccines and adoptively transferred cells which warrants further investigation