More precisely, in the drug therapy of the aforementioned malignant tumor, thalidomide is used in association with two other active ingredients: melphalan (an anticancer drug belonging to the class of alkylating agents) and prednisone (corticosteroid drug).
Thalidomide has a chiral center; in fact, in the clinical setting, a mixture of the enantiomers (R) - (+) - thalidomide and (S) - (-) - thalidomide is used.
To be able to carry out its action, thalidomide must be administered orally; drugs containing it can be dispensed only upon presentation of a non-repeatable limitative medical prescription (drugs that can be sold to the public on prescription from hospitals or specialists).
Among the contraindications of thalidomide certainly stands out the use during pregnancy, absolutely forbidden due to the teratogenic effects it is able to induce. Paradoxically, thalidomide was marketed in the fifties with indications for the treatment of pregnancy nausea. induced by taking the drug were considerable and led to the birth of thousands of children with congenital malformations of various types (in particular phocomelic infants).
