a035  0234  21 Jun 90
PM-Washington in Brief,0439
New Combination of Drugs Approved for Advanced Colon Cancer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved a
new combination drug treatment that has been shown to prolong
survival for patients with advanced stages of colon cancer.
    The therapy combines levamisole, a drug previously approved only for
eliminating intestinal parasites in animals, with fluorouracil,
already approved for treatment of several types of cancer.
    FDA officials said Wednesday the combination of the two drugs in
patients who have undergone surgery for colon cancer that has spread
to nearby lymph nodes has been shown to reduce tumor reccurence and
death in some patients.
    Colon cancer that has spread to lymph nodes is classified as stage
3, a category that applies to about 21,000 of the 110,000 Americans
diagnosed with colon cancer each year. About 40 percent live for five
years or more after surgery, the FDA said.
    The combination therapy was tested in two clinical trials sponsored
by the National Cancer Institute that involved about 1,700 patients
who had undergone surgery for stage 3 colon cancer.
    Researchers found that the treatment reduced the death rate for
these patients by about one-third and the tumor-recurrence rate by
about 40 percent.
    They don't know, however, how the five-year survival rate will be
affected since they have not followed these test patients that long
yet, said FDA spokeswoman Eva Kemper.
    
stallman@ai.mit.edu
fyi 
Automakers, Insurers Clash On Copyrighting Auto Part Design
    WASHINGTON (AP) - Automakers and insurers disagree over copyright
protection for product designs.
    The auto industry urged Congress on Wednesday to approve legislation
that would prohibit independent manufacturers from copying a part's
original design for a decade after it first appears on the market.
    The bills would protect consumers from shoddy imitation parts, auto
lobbyists told the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual
Property and Administration of Justice.
    ''Imitation sheet metal parts are often of lesser quality in fit,
finish and durability,'' said Kenneth W. Myers of Ford Motor Co.
    He spoke on behalf of the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association,
which represents the Big Three U.S. automakers.
    Opponents, led by insurers, said the legislation was designed to
squelch competition in the lucrative replacement parts industry,
which generated $52 billion in sales in 1988. The price of parts will
soar if the bills are passed, they said.
    ''American consumers will have to pay hundreds of millions of
dollars a year in monopoly profits to ... auto manufacturers and they
will get nothing in return,'' said C.A. Ingham, vice president of
State Farm Insurance Co.
    
 
AP-NY-06-21-90 0525EDT
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