COMBINATION ANTIRETROVIRAL CHEMOTHERAPY - A POTENTIAL STRATEGY IN AIDS-RELATED MALIGNANCY

There has been considerable interest and controversy over the potentia l clinical role of combination antiretroviral therapy, primarily in th e treatment of patients with established HIV infection, In order to mo del the hematologic toxicity of high-dose combination antiretroviral t herapy, the HL60 myeloid leukemia cell line was exposed to zidovudine, dideoxycytidine and/or didanosine. The results suggest that the myelo toxicity of high-dose combination antiretroviral therapy may be contro lled by using very brief periods of drug exposure. Brief intense antir etroviral therapy may offer a useful approach, particularly in the tre atment of patients with AIDS-related neoplasms who are also receiving myelotoxic antineoplastic drugs.