Macroscopic appearance of intestinal angiodysplasias under antiangiogenic treatment with thalidomide

Angiodysplasias are the main cause of bleeding from the small intestine. Single lesions may be treated by endoscopic coagulation or surgical resection. However, multiple disseminated angiodysplasias are frequently present, making local therapy an unfavorable choice or impossible. Currently there is no established medical treatment available for these patients. Thalidomide is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis in experimental models. As angiodysplasias are a result of unregulated vessel growth, antiangiogenic treatment may inhibit growth of angiodysplasias.

We studied the effect of thalidomide on the macroscopic appearance of angiodysplasias in three patients with bleeding due to multiple angiodysplasias of the small intestine. During the previous 12 months patients had experienced 3 - 7 bleeding episodes and had received a mean of 16.7 blood units.

After start of treatment with thalidomide at a dose of 100 mg daily, no further bleeding episodes occurred. Although thalidomide was stopped after 3 months, bleeding did not recur and hemoglobin reached and maintained normal levels without further transfusions for the whole observation period (mean follow-up 34 months). Repeat wireless capsule endoscopy after 3 months' thalidomide demonstrated substantial reductions in the number, size, and color intensity of angiodysplasias.

Thalidomide seems to inhibit growth of intestinal angiodysplasias and may be useful for treatment of patients with bleeding related to angiodysplasias. Wireless capsule endoscopy allows monitoring of the macroscopic effects of antiangiogenic therapy.