The University of Exas System Cancer enter

M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute
Texas Medical Center o 6723 Bertner Avenue

Houston, Texas 77030

Deparhnwot Of
Cancer Prevention

August 20, 1985

Harold E. Varmus, M. D.
University of California, San Francisco
School of Medicine
Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology
San Francisco, California 94143

Dear Dr. Varmus:

Thank you for your letter. Clearly the virus should not be

called HTLV-111, LAV, or ARV, firstly because it has no relation-
ship to HTLV-I or I1 and secondly, because the internecine strife
connected with the French Vs American virus should be avoided
in future if possible.
associating the virus with AIDS and simply to change the name,
for instance, to "XYZ virus" really does not help since the
clinician will then have to explain what that particular virus
causes.
is extremely high at present, I think that unfortunately as every-
one becomes more familiar with the disease this will tend to dimi-
nish and therefore there probably is a great deal to be  said for
calling the virus exactly what it is.
is anything to be gained by giving it the prefix  "human"  since
there seems to be evidence that a disease very akin to AIDS at
least can be caused by the virus in higher primates and that
the virus may have originated in the African green monkey.   I
would myself be in favor of something short and fairly explicit
such as AIDS associated virus or simply AIDS virus since I believe
that there is no way of wrapping the unpleasant truth up in words.
One might as well be honest with people from the outset.

  Thank you for asking me to give you my views on this.
should be interested to know what the final result of your
deliberations is.

I do not myself see any way of avoiding

Though the level of public hysteria associated with AIDS

I am not sure that there

I

1836-1986

@ 1981 State of Texas

Ltr., Dr. Varmus
8/20/85
Page Two

With best wishes.

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Peter W. A. Mansell, M. D.

Deputy Department Chairman

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