Toronto man achieves sustained HIV remission in Canadian medical first
Updated
Updated · Toronto Star · Apr 26
Toronto man achieves sustained HIV remission in Canadian medical first
10 articles · Updated · Toronto Star · Apr 26
The 62-year-old patient, treated at Toronto General Hospital, discontinued HIV medication in July 2025 after a bone marrow transplant using donor cells naturally resistant to HIV.
His HIV remains undetectable as of April 2026, and he is now considered in sustained remission, joining only 10 similar cases worldwide. The case was presented at the Canadian Association of HIV Research Conference.
Doctors emphasize bone marrow transplants are too risky for widespread HIV treatment, but this breakthrough could inform future, less invasive cures. The patient’s transplant followed cancer diagnoses and involved collaboration across multiple Toronto hospitals.
This man is the 11th person cured. How many have died attempting this same high-risk procedure for HIV?
Some patients are cured without the 'miracle' gene. What other biological secret are we missing in the fight against HIV?
Gene editing can now remove HIV from primate DNA. When will this be a realistic treatment for humans?
New proteins that block HIV were just found. Could they lead to a pill that mimics this rare cure?
With US funding for HIV cure research cut, what is the new global strategy to find a scalable cure?
Breakthrough in HIV Cure Research: Toronto Patient Off ART for 9 Months Post-CCR5-Delta32 Transplant
Overview
The Toronto patient, diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and later with leukemia in 2021, underwent a stem cell transplant using donor cells with the rare CCR5-delta32 mutation. This mutation blocks HIV from entering immune cells, while the transplant also triggered a mild graft-versus-host disease that helped eliminate remaining HIV-infected cells. Together, these effects rebuilt the patient's immune system resistant to HIV and cleared the viral reservoir, leading to a sustained remission confirmed nine months after stopping antiretroviral therapy in 2025. Despite the transplant's high risks and complexity, this case highlights a promising path toward an HIV cure, inspiring safer gene-editing strategies to replicate these protective effects.