From ASH 2011: A new study uncovers the genetic mechanisms that regulate whether commonly used immune-modulating drugs for multiple myeloma, known as IMiDs, will work in certain patients who may be less responsive to therapy. Thalidomide became well-known in the early 1960s for its link to severe birth defects when administered to pregnant mothers to treat morning sickness; however, in 1999, investigators discovered that the drug worked well in about one-third of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Since this discovery, thalidomide and other drugs like it (such as lenalidomide and pomalidomide, together known as IMiDs) have proven to be highly effective in the treatment of blood cancers like MM.