a woman with leukemia from the united states is the third person ever to be cured of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv), after undergoing a stem cell transplant.
researchers from the university of california los angeles presented their findings at the
conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections
in denver, colorado.
“today, we reported the third known case of hiv remission and the first woman following a stem cell transplant and using hiv-resistant cells,” dr. yvonne bryson, who led the study, said during a press conference,
abc news reports.
“this case is special for several reasons: first, our participant was a u.s. woman living with hiv of mixed race, who needed a stem cell transplant for treatment of her leukemia. and she would find a more difficult time finding both a genetic match and one with the hiv-resistant mutation to both cure her cancer and potentially her hiv. this is a natural, but rare mutation.”
previously, two men were cured of hiv thanks to a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. the first, known as the “berlin patient” was reported cured in 2006. the second, known as the “london patient” was reported cured in 2019.
bryson’s study began in 2015, when scientists observed 25 people living with hiv who underwent a blood stem cell transplant for reasons unrelated to hiv — in the successful patient it was leukemia. by killing cancerous immune cells with radiation or chemotherapy and then transplanting stem cells with a specific genetic mutation, scientists think people with hiv are able to develop their own immunity to the virus.
“the fact that she’s mixed race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact,” steven deeks, an aids expert from the university of california, san francisco, told the
new york times.
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