Therapeutic effect of small dose thalidomide and dexamethasone for old multiple myeloma(MM) patients

Objective:To evaluate the effect of small dose thalidomide and dexamethasone for MM.Methods: Control group patients(18 cases) were treated by two courses standard VAD protocol.Therapy group patients(17 cases) simultaneously treated with small dose of thalidomide and dexamethasone.Small dose of thalidomide,10mg each day,were used at first and added 50mg every week.At the same time,dexamethasone 40mg every day(d1-4,d9-12,d17-20) were used.One month was a cycle and at least three months.Results: The effective rate was not significantly different between the control group and therapy group(P0.05).However,the therapy group's side effect happened less than the control group's.Conclusion:Small dose thalidomide and dexamethasone is safe and efficient to old MM patients.