Hi Cheri,
Revlimid works in many different ways - most of them are probably not yet described. The drug has been shown to be
an immunomodulator, affecting both cellular and humoral limbs of the immune system. It has also been shown to have
anti-angiogenic properties (prevents growths of the small blood vessels).
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content...-8722-2-36.pdf
Here is a report from a study of transfusion-dependent individuals who had low- or intermediate-1-risk MDS but did not have the chromosome 5 abnormality. In the study, 214 individuals received 10 mg of oral lenalidomide daily or 10 mg on days 1 to 21 of a 28-day cycle. Of these people, 56 (26%) patients no longer needed blood transfusions after
a median of 4.8 weeks of treatment.
http://rarediseases.about.com/b/2008...s-patients.htm
I have not found a study in high risk non 5q MDS patients like you. The adverse effects with low WBCs and platelets are supposed to decrease after the firsts cycles.
Remember that many patients can have positive effects with much lower doses than generally prescribed. I am for example taking 4 50 mg caps Thalidomide/week instead of 7 as recommended due to low WBCs.
Good that your platelets are holding
!
Kind regards
Birgitta-A