How "immunomodulatory" are IMIDs?

In this issue of Blood, Hsu and colleagues report that the immunostimulatory effect of lenalidomide on natural killer (NK)–cell function is profoundly suppressed by concurrent dexamethasone (Dex) therapy in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. These results could have major implications for the design of clinical trials combining lenalidomide and immunotherapies with the intent to stimulate the anti-MM activity of the latter.