Thalidomide (Oral Route)

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Thalidomide (Oral Route)

US Brand Names

Description

Thalidomide is used to treat and prevent erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), a painful skin disease associated with leprosy. It is also used together with dexamethasone (e.g., Decadron®) to treat patients who have just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a certain type of cancer of the blood) . This medicine may also be used for other diseases as determined by your doctor.

Thalidomide is available only from your doctor. It has not been widely available since the early 1960s because it was found to cause birth defects. However, under special conditions, your doctor may decide that this medicine will be useful for your treatment.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in product labeling, thalidomide is used in certain patients with the following medical conditions:

• Esophagus ulcers in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Multiple myeloma in newly diagnosed patients who are elderly or cannot have transplant surgery, in combination with oral melphalan and prednisone chemotherapy .

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