After a stem cell transplant to treat leukemia, a 66-year-old man may have possibly been cured of HIV. The patient is known as “The City of Hope Patient” after the City of Hope Cancer Centre where he was treated. He got a stem cell transplant for cancer treatment using cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation, called CCR5-delta32, that stops HIV from entering T-cells.
The patient, who remains anonymous, was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, his CD4 count declined so much that he was diagnosed with AIDS and began the combination antiretroviral therapy when it became available in the mid-1990s.
In early 2019, at the age of 63, he received a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor with the CCR5-delta32 mutation to treat his acute myelogenous leukemia.
He got reduced-intensity chemotherapy and continued his antiretroviral therapy for two years after the transplant. With an undetectable viral load, he and his doctors decided to try a carefully monitored treatment interruption.
After more than three years of the transplant, and over 17 months of stopping antiretrovirals, he has no evidence of HIV RNA rebound and no perceptible HIV DNA. HIV antibody level has reduced and his leukemia also remains in remission.
According to Dr. Jana Dickter, of the City of Hope Cancer Centre, during the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada, the patient has so far, remained free of HIV for over 17 months after stopping the antiretroviral therapy.
The 66-year-old man is currently the oldest person known to be cured of HIV after stem cell transplants. He has been living with HIV longer and it is expected that his treatment may open up the opportunity for older patients living with both HIV and blood cancers to receive a stem cell transplant and go into remission for both diseases.
