Kansas City, KS - A young man being treated for acute leukemia at The University of Kansas Cancer Center has become one of only about 13 people worldwide reported to be cured of HIV. During his leukemia treatment, doctors identified an unrelated stem cell donor with a rare genetic mutation affecting CCR5, one of the pathways HIV uses to enter human cells. After extensive testing found no evidence of the virus, doctors stopped his HIV medication. At the time of the interview, he had remained off HIV medication for 19 months with no virus detected. On Open Mics with Dr. Stites, the physicians behind the case explain how it happened and what this extraordinary outcome could teach researchers about the future of HIV treatment.
Dr. Wissam El Atrouni, Infectious Diseases Specialist, The University of Kansas Health System
- He explains the difference between HIV being undetectable, being in remission and being cured — and why this team believes the patient has no remaining HIV-infected cells.
- Dr. El Atrouni recently presented the case at the International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro and explains how cases like this can help advance HIV research.
- He shares what it has meant to watch a young patient who was confronting both HIV and leukemia reach this extraordinary outcome.
Dr. Anurag Singh, Hematologist and Medical Oncologist, Deputy Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- Dr. Singh says the CCR5 mutation must be inherited from both parents and is found in roughly one in 100 people of Northern European ancestry and is even rarer in other populations. The donor also had to be an appropriate immunological match for the patient.
- He explains how the patient's acute leukemia was first brought into remission before the team moved forward with a bone marrow transplant.
- During the donor search, the team identified an unrelated donor who carried a rare genetic mutation affecting the CCR5 receptor, creating an unusual opportunity to address both diseases.
- He explains why bone marrow transplantation is an intensive, high-risk treatment and is not currently used simply as a treatment for HIV; this patient already needed a transplant because of his leukemia.
