In the USA, an elderly man was cured of blood cancer and achieved HIV remission: how he succeeded – News

luckybusiness/Depositphotos

68-year-old Paul Edmonds from California (USA) became the fifth person in the world to achieve remission of acute myelogenous leukemia and human immunodeficiency virus after the introduction of stem cells with a rare genetic mutation (homozygous CCR5 Delta 32).

Thanks to them, the man’s body became more resistant to HIV infection. Edmonds is the person who has lived with this virus for the longest time – 31 years, writes Medical News.

He was cured of leukemia thanks to a stem cell transplant, which was performed in 2019. In addition, almost three years ago, the man stopped taking antiretroviral therapy for HIV. He will be considered healthy after stopping the use of antiretroviral drugs for five years.

“This case proves that it is possible to achieve remission of HIV infection even at an older age and after many years of living with this disease. It can be achieved even with less intensive therapy“, – said Yana K. Dikter, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor of the Department of Infectious Diseases of City of Hope, who led the research.

Edmonds received three different types of therapy. It is necessary to help the patient achieve remission, after which he can undergo organ transplantation.

Before the transplant, Edmonds underwent a less intense chemotherapy regimen designed to treat older patients with blood cancer. It makes it easier to carry out organ transplant surgery and reduces the likelihood of complications.

To carry out the transplant, the medical team needed to find a donor who would have a rare genetic mutation that occurs in only 1-2% of the population. This mutation makes people resistant to HIV infection.

CCR5 is a receptor on CD4+ immune cells and the virus uses it to enter the immune system and attack. Instead, a CCR5 mutation prevents them from doing so and blocks the pathway.

After a stem cell transplant, Paul Edmonds had a complication known in medicine as “graft versus host,” when the T cells of the new immune system recognize the recipient’s cells as foreign and attack them. This causes a “war” between the transplant and the recipient.

Edmonds has achieved a state of “full chimerism,” meaning his bone marrow and blood stem cells have become genetically identical to the donor.

“Many medical institutions began to perform stem cell transplants for the elderly ten years ago. We treat patients over 80 years old with the help of transplants”,” shared Steven J. Forman, MD, director of the City of Hope Hematological Malignancy Research Institute.

As a reminder, from 2024 bone marrow and stem cell transplants in Ukraine are free.