Effectiveness of different doses of dexamethasone combined with thalidomide on multiple myeloma / 白血病·淋巴瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and side effects of standard-dose of dexamethasone and low-dose dexamethasone combined with thalidomide in treatment of multiple myeloma. Methods Thirtynine patients with multiple myeloma were randomly divided into 2 groups, who were treated with chemotherapy of thalidomide (200 mg/d) plus dexamethasone (40 mg d1-46728 days in standard-dose group and 20 mg dl-4d/28 days in low-dose group), for a total of 4 courses. The efficacy, survival time and adverse events were compared between the two groups. Results Complete remission rate, partial remission rate and overall response rate of the standard-dose group were 26.3 %, 35 % and 75 %, respectively; and those of the low-dose group were 15.8% , 36.8 % and 68.4 %, respectively. No statistical difference between the two groups (P >0.05 ) was observed. Lung infections, blood pressure elevation, blood glucose elevation, shingles and other adverse reactions in the standard-dose group were statistically higher than those in the low-dose group (P <0.05). Conclusion Efficacy on multiple myeloma of standard-dose and low-dose dexamethasone are similar, but adverse reactions are significantly increased.