In a clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it was revealed that low doses of steroids can prove to be effective for the treatment of bone marrow cancer rather than being administered with dexamethasone.

The trial pointed out that low dosage regimen of steroids (dexamethasone) with lenalidomide can prove to be an excellent option for patients who are suffering from newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The trial also indicated that a combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone bring fewer side-effects than a standalone or combination of other medication.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells that are found in blood and bone marrow.

Survival chances improved considerably when a low dose of the steroid dexamethasone combined with lenalidomide was tried on patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

The clinical trial was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and conducted by a network of researchers led by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG).

The significance of the results lies in that a low dose regimen has been found to be more effective than the standard dose of dexamethasone.

Researchers found that patients in the study who received a lower dose regimen had a one-year survival of 96 percent compared to 86 per cent for patients treated in the case of those with the standard-dose of dexamethasone and lenalidomide.

In addition, there were fewer side effects associated with the low-dose dexamethasone and lenalidomide.

As per noted study chair Vincent Rajkumar, a combination of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone can prove to be an effective option for multiple myeloma.

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