The Medicine Branch is a major clinical facility of the NCI. Its acitivities are divided between clinical therapeutic trials in cancer patients and related laboratory research. Clinical trials of cancer treatment are currently underway in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, testicular tumors, Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS, soft tissue sarcomas, cervical carcinoma, pheochromocytoma and melanoma. Phase I-II clinical trials have been completed this year on the following new experimental agents: Tiazofurin, DHAC Phase I-II trials continue on CBDCA, Trimetrexate, and intraperitoneal chemotherapy of aclacinomycin. In 1984-1985 the Medicine Branch staff published 128 papers, articles, or book chapters and has accepted or has in press 32 additional publications. This is the largest number of scientific publications in the history of the Branch and represents a 28% increase over last year. Twenty-five active protocols are maintained primarily by the Medicine Branch and over 1070 patients are on clinical trials, 993 (93%) at the Medicine Branch, 61 (6%) at the Navy-MOB and 16 (1%) at the University of Maryland. Details of the clinical and laboratory studies will be reviewed in the subsequent sections. Additional summaries of clinical studies are summarized under reports entitled, Clinical Program in Breast Carcinoma. Laboratory research of the Branch is summarized under reports entitled, Mechanisms of Drug Resistance, Cytogenetic Studies, Immunologic Aspects of Malignanat Lymphomas, Mechanisms of Hormone Dependence of Human Malignancy, Genetic Regulation of the Immune Response, and Retroviruses and Transforming Genes in Malignancy.
