Thalidomide back in favour as tumour treatment

THE controversial drug thalidomide as a new treatment for their condition has emerged as the possible saviour for children suffering from brain tumours.

The drug, which caused birth defects in thousands of babies in the 1950s and 1960s after being issued for morning sickness, is being used at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre under strict controls, where conventional treatments have failed.

One of those taking the drug, 12-year-old Robert Wadsworth, told BBC TV’s Breakfast programme that he preferred the new treatment to chemotherapy.

Robert, who lives near Derby, said: “I felt absolutely terrible, but now I just feel tired and I have a few pains.

“One really good thing is that I got my hair back.”

Professor Richard Grundy, who is involved in the pioneering work, said thalidomide, which has previously been used to treat adult cancers, had been “resurrected from the bin”.

The medical expert said: “The reason that the problems were caused in pregnancy was probably the fact that thalidomide is antiangiogenic and stopped new blood vessels in the limbs for example.

“We are trying to use those properties against the tumour to stop new blood vessel formation there.

“Robert is fully grown and he’s not of child-bearing age or sex, so it’s unlikely to cause him any problems.”