1. Skin Responses in Newly Diagnosed Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal Gammopathy, and Skin Changes (POEMS) Syndrome After Therapy With Low-Dose Lenalidomide Plus Dexamethasone
- Author
-
Jian Li, Tao Wang, Yajuan Gao, Shiyu Zhang, Yuehua Liu, and Lu Yang
- Subjects
Hypertrichosis ,Adult ,Male ,Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Biopsy ,Immunology ,lenalidomide ,skin changes ,dexamethasone ,Organomegaly ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Humans ,Dexamethasone ,Lenalidomide ,POEMS syndrome ,Original Research ,Aged ,Skin ,Acrocyanosis ,Duration of Therapy ,vascular endothelial growth factor ,business.industry ,RC581-607 ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Hyperpigmentation ,Dermatology ,prospective studies ,Treatment Outcome ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Drug Therapy, Combination ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,Immunologic diseases. Allergy ,Symptom Assessment ,business ,Polyneuropathy ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Biomarkers ,medicine.drug - Abstract
BackgroundPolyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic disease with a high prevalence of skin symptoms. Few studies have focused on skin responses to systemic treatment of this disease.ObjectiveTo evaluate skin responses after treatment with low-dose lenalidomide plus dexamethasone and determine their relationship with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hematological responses.MethodsA total of 41 consecutive Chinese patients who were at least 18 years of age with newly diagnosed POEMS syndrome were enrolled. 36 of them completed 12 cycles of treatment. Skin, serum VEGF, hematological and neurological responses were documented at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months during treatment.ResultsSkin manifestations were not associated with serum VEGF levels at baseline. Of the patients with hyperpigmentation, hemangiomas, hypertrichosis, white nails, or acrocyanosis separately, 26/34 (76.5%), 11/30 (36.7%), 14/15 (93.3%), 21/21 (100%), and 4/4 (100%) achieved complete responses at 12 months. Reduction in hyperpigmentation after 12 months reflected a good VEGF response (P = 0.017).ConclusionLow-dose lenalidomide plus dexamethasone therapy is effective in reversing skin changes in patients with POEMS syndrome.Clinical Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT01816620
- Published
- 2021