By: Devan Nambiar
Canadian HIV cure research is bringing many of us closer to something we have dreamed about for decades: the possibility of a cure, and one found here in Canada.
At CAHR 2026, Drs. Sharon Walmsley and Mario Ostrowski shared the case of the “Toronto Patient“.
The patient, 62 years old, has been living with HIV for 27 years, taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). He developed acute myelogenous leukemia in 2021 and underwent a bone marrow transplant at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre with donor stem cells that were selected because they contained a rare “delta-32” mutation in the CCR5 gene.
CCR5–delta 32 mutation is a protein on the surface of white blood cells. The mutation disables the CCR5 receptor on the surface of white blood cells, so HIV cannot enter these cells and infect them. Around 1% of people of European descent have this mutation from a plague that occurred over 2,000 years ago.
This procedure is not available for the 40 million PLWH, but there is the possibility of further research using the CCR5 gene mutation to eradicate the HIV viral reservoirs. The Toronto patient is the 11th patient who has achieved “sustained remission” of HIV for 10 months.
The HIV cure research is crucial because HIV is an inflammatory disease and can create HIV reservoirs where it will hide and persist during antiretroviral therapy. HIV causes inflammation even with an undetectable viral load, can accelerate changes normally associated with aging, including non-AIDS-related cancers, a higher risk of heart disease, affects bone health, and various comorbidities, compounded by HIV stigma.
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Devan Nambiar is Senior Lead, Knowledge Translation & Science at GMSH, Community Co-lead of the CTN+ Cure & Immunotherapies Think Tank.
