ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00000986Updated Nov 4, 2021

The Safety and Effectiveness of Interleukin-2 Plus Zidovudine in Patients With AIDS or AIDS Related Complex

A Phase 1 interventional study of Zidovudine and Aldesleukin in HIV Infections, sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-11-04.

Sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To test the safety and tolerance of three different doses of recombinant human interleukin 2 (aldesleukin; IL-2), when it is given for five consecutive days to patients with AIDS or AIDS related complex (ARC), who have also received zidovudine (AZT) for at least 6 weeks just before beginning the IL-2 treatment.

AZT is an antiviral drug, which has been shown to be beneficial in some patients with AIDS. IL-2 is a substance found naturally in the body that boosts the body's immune response to invading organisms and tumor cells. These two drugs, when administered together, may have a mutually helpful effect in treating AIDS patients, but before this effect can be studied, it is important to understand the proper dose and any side effects that may occur when these drugs are used together. The study will show how much AZT and IL-2 patients can safely take at the same time and how the two drugs will interact with each other.

Read the detailed description

AZT is an antiviral drug, which has been shown to be beneficial in some patients with AIDS. IL-2 is a substance found naturally in the body that boosts the body's immune response to invading organisms and tumor cells. These two drugs, when administered together, may have a mutually helpful effect in treating AIDS patients, but before this effect can be studied, it is important to understand the proper dose and any side effects that may occur when these drugs are used together. The study will show how much AZT and IL-2 patients can safely take at the same time and how the two drugs will interact with each other.

AMENDED: Note that the dose of AZT changed 900214 to reflect new dose recommendations. Original design: Six weeks before beginning treatment with IL-2, patients are given AZT daily. There are three patient groups, one for each dose level of IL-2. On the first day of treatment with the two drugs together, patients are admitted to Presbyterian University Hospital, where AZT is administered orally every 4 hours and IL-2 is given once a day as a single injection under the skin. Clinical and laboratory safety data from the first two patients enrolled in each treatment group will be analyzed prior to enrolling additional patients in each group. All patients are expected to stay in the hospital for at least 5 days, and some may stay longer if serious side effects develop. AZT treatment will continue after the patient leaves the hospital for an additional 10 weeks. Follow-up visits are scheduled for days 6, 8, and 15 for safety, immunologic, and virologic evaluations. Thereafter, patients are followed by telephone interview every other week and come into the clinic if a change in health is reported. At weeks 10 and 20, patients are also evaluated in a follow-up clinic visit.

02

Conditions studied

  • HIV Infections

Keywords

  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Interleukin-2
  • Drug Interactions
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
  • AIDS-Related Complex
  • Zidovudine
03

In context

HIV Infections

4,734 studies on the registry are indexed under HIV Infections; 244 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 18 is below the median of 80 across 3,489 interventional studies indexed under HIV Infections.

Browse HIV Infections studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is the lead sponsor of 2,446 studies on the registry; 179 are open to participants now.

Of its 405 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 302 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

Concurrent Medication:

Allowed:

  • Acetaminophen under the supervision of a study physician.

Prior Medication:

Required for at least 6 weeks prior to study entry:

  • Zidovudine at a dose of at least 300 mg/day.
  • Allowed:
  • Aerosolized pentamidine prior to combination therapy.

Patients must demonstrate the following clinical and laboratory findings:

  • Currently receiving zidovudine (AZT) at a dose of at least 300 mg/day and have received the drug for at least 6 weeks.
  • Have a of = or > 4 months.
  • Available for the duration of the study and for follow-up visits.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Co-existing Condition:

Patients with the following conditions will be excluded:

  • Evidence of active life-threatening opportunistic infection with bacterial, viral, fungal, or protozoan pathogens during the 6-week period prior to and during the 5-day period of combination therapy.
  • A fever > 101 degrees F within the past 10 days.
  • Significant central nervous system disease, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), dementia, psychiatric disabilities, or seizure disorders.
  • Significant cardiac ( stage III or IV) and/or pulmonary disease (forced expiratory volume \< 75 percent).
  • Kaposi's sarcoma or other AIDS related .
  • Evidence of malabsorption as indicated by 10 percent weight loss within the last 3 months.

Concurrent Medication:

Excluded:

  • Cardiac medications.
  • Glucocorticosteroids.
  • Probenecid.
  • Acetylsalicylic acid.
  • Trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole.
  • Acyclovir.
  • Allopurinol.
  • Drugs causing anemia, neutropenia, or nephrotoxicity.
  • Aerosolized pentamidine during combination therapy.
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by patients with thrombocytopenia (\<75000 /mm3).
  • Acetaminophen except under supervision of a study physician.

Patients with the following conditions will be excluded:

  • Evidence of active life-threatening opportunistic infection with bacterial, viral, fungal, or protozoan pathogens during the 6-week period prior to and during the 5-day period of combination therapy.
  • A fever > 101 degrees F within the past 10 days.
  • Significant central nervous system disease, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), dementia, psychiatric disabilities, or seizure disorders.
  • Significant cardiac (New York Heart Association stage III or IV) and/or pulmonary disease (forced expiratory volume \< 75 percent).
  • Kaposi's sarcoma or other AIDS related malignancy.
  • Evidence of malabsorption as indicated by 10 percent weight loss within the last 3 months.

Prior Medication:

Excluded within 4 weeks of study entry:

  • Any antiretroviral drug, except zidovudine (AZT).
  • Excluded within 12 weeks of study entry:
  • Immunotherapy, including interleukins, interferons, tumor necrosis factor.
  • Other cytokines.
  • Biologic response modifiers.
  • Monoclonal antibodies.
  • BCG vaccines.

Active drug or alcohol abuse.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Life expectancy

The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
18 participants

Interventions

06

Study locations

1 site
  • Univ of Pittsburgh Med School
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
07

References and documents

Publications

  • McMahon DK, Armstrong JA, Huang XL, Rinaldo CR Jr, Gupta P, Whiteside TL, Pazin GJ, Tripoli C, Ho M. A phase I study of subcutaneous recombinant interleukin-2 in patients with advanced HIV disease while on zidovudine. AIDS. 1994 Jan;8(1):59-66. doi: 10.1097/00002030-199401000-00009. PubMed 8011237 ↗
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 4, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00000986
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 31, 2001
Completion
Jan 1994
Last update
Nov 4, 2021

Study contacts

M Ho
study chair
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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