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.