March 10, 2020

expert reaction to study suggesting a second patient has been cured of HIV

Research, published in the journal Lancet HIV, reports that a second patient has been cured of HIV.

Dr Jonathan Stoye, Group Leader, Retrovirus-Host Interactions Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, said:

“This is a sound and thorough study with results that will certainly be reassuring to the London Patient.  However, I am not persuaded that we now know significantly more about HIV cure than we did following the initial report on this patient a year ago.”

Dr Andrew Freedman, Reader in Infectious Diseases and Honorary Consultant Physician, Cardiff University, said:

“Details of the ‘London patient’ were first published one year ago and this paper describes follow-up data up to 30 months following interruption of antiretroviral therapy.  The investigators have performed a meticulous study to detect evidence of residual HIV virus in multiple body tissues and fluids, but have found none at all.

“Although further longer term follow-up will be required, it does seem highly likely that this is the second ever patient to be cured of HIV, after the ‘Berlin patient’.  As the authors state, such treatment is not suitable for the millions of people infected worldwide.  They need to continue long term antiretroviral drug therapy which is highly effective in reducing morbidity and mortality, as well as preventing onward transmission.

“Work such as this is nevertheless important in the development of cure strategies that may be more widely applicable.”

‘Evidence for HIV-1 cure after CCR5Δ32/Δ32 allogeneic haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation 30 months post analytical treatment interruption: a case report’ by Ravindra Kumar Gupta et al. was published in The Lancet HIV at 12:30pm lunch time on Tuesday 10 March 2020.

DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(20)30069-2

Declared interests

Dr Jonathan Stoye: “I have no conflicting interests.”

None others received.