Lenalidomide: a novel anticancer drug with multiple modalities

Abstract

Over the past 5 years, lenalidomide (Revlimid, Celgene Co., Summit, NJ, USA), a member of a class of drugs termed immunomodulatory drugs, has emerged as a significant weapon in the arsenal of cancer-therapeutics. It is a lead therapeutic in multiple myeloma and del-5q myelodysplastic syndromes and has also been trialed for acute leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma, T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, malignant melanoma, renal cancer, advanced ovarian and peritoneal carcinoma. The most significant development for lenalidomide has been its FDA approval (US and Europe) for previously treated multiple myeloma in combination with dexamethasone. The following review describes key clinical and mechanistic breakthroughs that have made lenalidomide a leading cancer therapeutic.