my mom is sickness related to new revlimid tx

[disneydad]

My Mom was diagnosed with non 5q mds low-intermediate risk in Novenber of 2009. She did not respond to Vidaza or Dacogen and was accepted into a revlimid study. 2 1/2 weeks into treatment she is in the hospital. Her Hg dropped from 8.7 to 6.7 over the weekend and her WBC went up. She has diarhea and now her kidney function labs are abnormal. Could this be related to the revlimid? Is it just normal side affects? Should she stop taking it? Its the first time since her diagnosis that i have been scared. Any thoughts?

[Neil Cuadra]

disneydad,

The doctors who run studies are extremely attentive to their patients so your Mom is no doubt getting excellent care.

Diarrhea is a normal side effect of Revlimid.

It's ironic that counts are likely to drop before they get better with Revlimid. Since it's an immunosuppressant her hemoglobin drop may not surprise her doctors.

Changes in kidney function require a talk with the doctors because renal issues have the potential to be serious and yes they can be caused by Revlimid. However, in some cases this may require only a dosage adjustment.

Therefore, your Mom won't necessarily have to go off Revlimid, but the doctors should certainly discuss all of these symptoms with you and whether their strategy will change. Good luck.

[disneydad]

Thanks for that. Very helpful.