New Drug Protocol Found Effective Against T-Cell Cancers : Science File / An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment.

A combination of the AIDS drug AZT and the genetically engineered protein interferon-alpha are effective in the treatment of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, researchers from USC’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center report today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Like AIDS, T-cell leukemias and lymphomas are caused by a retrovirus.

Dr. Parkash Gill and his colleagues reported that 11 of 19 patients treated with the combination responded to the treatment. Six are still alive one year after treatment. -- Compiled from Times wire and staff reports.