“Like Winning Twice”: Patient Cured of HIV After Bone Marrow Transplant for Cancer Treatment

A man in Oslo has achieved long-term remission from HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from his brother, who carried a rare genetic mutation that makes cells resistant to the virus. Researchers say this case may represent only the tenth instance worldwide in which HIV has effectively been cured.

HIV is notoriously difficult to eliminate because it can hide within cells across different tissues, even when medication suppresses the virus. This is why the infection often returns once antiretroviral therapy is stopped.

However, earlier research has shown that remission may be possible when patients receive stem cell transplants from donors with a specific mutation known as CCR5Δ32/Δ32. This genetic variation prevents HIV from entering and infecting immune cells.

The patient, now 64, was originally diagnosed with HIV in 2006. He later underwent a stem cell transplant from his brother as treatment for bone marrow cancer. About two years after the procedure, doctors discontinued his HIV medication.

Because his brother carried the CCR5Δ32/Δ32 mutation, the transplanted cells gradually replaced the patient’s immune system in the blood, bone marrow, and gut. Follow-up tests found no trace of HIV DNA integrated into his cells.

Further analysis of tens of millions of immune cells revealed no active virus and no immune response specific to HIV. Over time, his HIV antibody levels also steadily declined.

Researchers noted that the absence of virus capable of replication, along with the disappearance of HIV-specific immune responses, supports the idea of sustained remission.

Despite these promising findings, experts caution that such outcomes are extremely rare. Only about 25% of siblings are suitable transplant matches, and the protective mutation is found in roughly 1% of people in Northern Europe.

Scientists say the case highlights how replacing the immune system with HIV-resistant cells may eliminate hidden virus reservoirs. Although stem cell transplants are not a practical solution for most patients, studying such cases could help identify markers that predict long-term remission.

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