Research Team Views Leukemia

A team of four researchers from the Harvard Medical School recently made a major contribution to medical knowledge of the treatment of leukemia and other malignant diseases. The research, conducted in both humans and animals, promises to eliminate one of the major deterrents to massive radiation treatment-destruction of the body's bone marrow.

During periods when the leukemia is controlled by drugs, the diseased cells disappear from the bone marrow, and the marrow takes on a normal appearance. The researchers proposed to remove and freeze a part of the normal appearing marrow, storing it until leukemia cells again appeared and could not be controlled by drugs.

They then planned to give the patient a large dose of radiation, after which the stored marrow would be transplanted. The experiments with this method have been moderately successful so far, but the group points out that more study is needed before its final value can be determined.