Thalidomide therapy returns in cancer, metabolic disorders

Thalidomide's infamous teratogenic effects were due in part to inhibition of fetal blood vessel formation, but researchers are learning to turn this nightmare feature into an antiangiogenic advantage in the treatment of cancer. Reports from 5 US centres were presented at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII [New York, US; November 2000] with updates on current clinical trials of thalidomide ['Thalomid'] in a variety of cancers and metabolic disorders. The reports were generally positive, but in one trial the disappointing results suggest that researchers still have much to learn about the intricacies of angiogenesis.