[Brief report: stroke in multiple myeloma patient treated with thalidomide]

We presented a patient suffered from stroke related to thalidomide therapy. The patient was a 74-year-old man who had about two-year history of multiple myeloma and treated with 100 mg of oral thalidomide daily. He was diagnosed as having cryptogenic stroke attributable to patent foramen ovale, when he admitted to our hospital with sudden onset left-side hemiparesis. Antiplatelet and neuroprotective therapies were commenced along with the use of elastic stocking to prevent further embolic event. Then, warfarin was selected as secondary prevention to reduce the risk of paradoxical embolism during thalidomide therapy. Although the risk of deep vein thrombosis on thalidomide therapy has been well documented, only a few cases have been noted documenting the risk of stroke during thalidomide therapy. We need to be careful about the risk of deep vein thrombosis on thalidomide therapy, even as monotherapy, and consider using anticoagulant therapy while prescribing thalidomide.