An eight person appears to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant for cancer treatment from a donor with a rare mutation that prevents the virus from entering cells, according to a case report presented at the HIV Drug Therapy meeting in Glasgow.
The woman, who was treated in France, received a stem cell transplant for leukemia in July 2020. Although she stopped antiretroviral treatment a year ago, she has not yet experienced viral rebound.
The risky transplant procedure is only appropriate for HIV-positive people with advanced cancer, but each new case provides further information that could help scientists develop a more widely applicable functional cure.
Prior Cure Cases
Antiretroviral therapy can keep HIV suppressed indefinitely, but the virus inserts its genetic…