REVLIMID® (lenalidomide) logo

This site is intended for US audiences only.

This site is intended for US audiences only.

REVLIMID® (lenalidomide) is a prescription medicine, used to treat adults with multiple myeloma (MM) in combination with the medicine dexamethasone, or as maintenance treatment after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (a type of stem cell transplant that uses your own stem cells). REVLIMID should not be used to treat people who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) unless they are participants in a controlled clinical trial. It is not known if REVLIMID is safe and effective in children.

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Glossary

Glossary

Understand what you’re hearing and reading when it comes to multiple myeloma.

Anemia

(A-NEE-mee-a) A condition in which the number of red blood cells is below normal.

Anti-inflammatory

Reduces the redness, swelling, and pain that is a result of the body’s reaction to irritation or injury.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

(Aut- + -ologous He-ma-to-poi-et-ic Stem Sel Trans-plan-ta-shen) A blood or bone marrow transplant that replaces abnormal blood-forming stem cells with healthy cells.

B lymphocytes

(B-LIM-foh-sites) A type of white blood cell that is made in the bone marrow and grows into a plasma cell.

Complete response

All signs and symptoms of the cancer have disappeared, but cancer may still be in the body.

Deep vein thrombosis

(Throm-BOH-sis) A blood clot inside a blood vessel.

Dehydration

(dee-hi-DRA-shuhn) A condition that occurs when the body loses too much water.

Edema

Swelling caused by fluids in your body’s tissues.

Immune system

A network of cells and organs that protects the body from disease organisms, other foreign bodies, and cancers.

Immune-modulating

Any drug that has an effect on the immune system's ability to fight cancer cell growth.

In vitro

In a test tube or glass; outside of a living organism.

M protein

(M PROH-teen) A type of antibody found in the body or urine of people with multiple myeloma.

Maintenance therapy or treatment

Treatment that is given to help keep multiple myeloma from coming back following an initial therapy such as an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Myeloma cells

Myeloma cells that build up in the bone marrow and crowd out normal blood cells.

Neutropenia

(NOO-tro-PEE-nee-uh) A condition in which the number of neutrophils (the most numerous type of white blood cells, which help fight infection) is below normal in the blood.

Neutrophils

(NOO-tro-fils) A type of white blood cell that is one of the first types of cells to travel to the site of an infection.

Overall response rate (ORR)

The percentage of patients who respond to a specific therapy in a clinical trial with a partial response or better.

Overall survival (OS)

The percentage of patients alive after a given amount of time as specified in the clinical trial.

Partial response

A treatment outcome where there is greater than 50% decrease in M protein.

Placebo

An inactive treatment that is used in clinical trials to compare its effects with the active treatment, or standard of care. It looks like the active treatment and is given the same way.

Plasma cells

A type of white blood cell. Plasma cells make substances that fight infections.

Platelets

(PLATE-lets) Blood cells that are essential for blood clotting.

Progression-free survival (PFS)

The length of time a patient lives with the disease without the disease getting worse.

Pruritus

(Proo-RY-tus) A clinical term for itching.

Pulmonary embolism

A pulmonary embolism happens when one or more blood clots travel to the lungs. The blood clots usually travel up from larger veins in the legs and pelvis.

Red blood cells (RBCs)

Cells that carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.

Residual disease

Myeloma cells that remain after treatment or attempts to remove the cancer.

Side effect

An unintended reaction to, or result of, a treatment.

Thrombocytopenia

(THROM-boh-sy-toh-PEE-nee-uh) A condition in which there are too few platelets in the blood. It may lead to easy bruising and bleeding.

Time to progression (TTP)

The length of time a patient was on therapy before their multiple myeloma started to get worse.

Tumor lysis syndrome

(TOO-mer LY-sis SIN-drome) Metabolic complications that can occur during treatment of cancer and sometimes even without treatment. The complications are caused by the breakdown products of dying cancer cells and may include the following changes to blood chemistry: higher levels of potassium, phosphorus, and uric acid, and lower levels of calcium. These changes can lead to changes in kidney function and/or heartbeat, seizures, and sometimes death.

Very good partial response (VGPR)

Treatment outcome where there is a greater than 90% decrease in M protein; also known as very good partial remission.

White blood cells (WBCs)

A type of cell that is found in the blood and lymph tissue that helps fight infections and diseases.