9th IAS Conference on HIV Science Convenes in Paris

Emerging opportunities to cure or achieve the long-term remission of HIV infection will be the focus when scientists, advocates and funders gather for the International AIDS Society (IAS) HIV Cure & Cancer Forum on 22 and 23 July, just before the 9th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2017).

This is the first time that leading HIV cure and cancer experts will come together on this scale to address potential links between two of the greatest scientific research challenges of our time. The forum will focus on the interface and similarities between HIV cure and cancer research, on cancer research approaches that may offer promise in controlling HIV infection and on strategies to strengthen alliances between the fields.

"Uncovering and exploring the links between cancer and HIV is just one of the ways that the IAS expands the parameters of scientific research and helps shift the outcomes of this epidemic," IAS President Linda-Gail Bekker said. "From the launch of the first 'IAS Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure' in 2012, the IAS has kept global attention focused on achieving what was once considered an impossible scientific milestone: a cure for HIV infection."

The IAS has been a global leader in efforts to promote collaboration between scientific disciplines to accelerate the pace of discovery in HIV cure research. The forum is co-chaired by Fran�oise Barr�-Sinoussi (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France), Steven Deeks (University of California, San Francisco, United States) and Sharon Lewin (The Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia).

"The parallels between HIV persistence and cancer are striking," said Nobel Laureate Fran�oise Barr�-Sinoussi. "In both cases, the immune response is unable to target and clear HIV-infected cells and tumor cells. Both fields also face similar challenges in quantifying the size and distribution of those cells, which can reside in tissues that are difficult to access."

In recent years, HIV cure research has expanded from efforts to eradicate or suppress HIV through the early use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to include research on the use of immune-boosting strategies, some based on cancer treatment models, that could suppress viral replication to the point at which an HIV-infected person could discontinue ART and remain healthy. Currently, treatment for HIV requires life-long adherence to ART and can cause serious side effects.

"The potential of emerging synergies in HIV and cancer therapies is generating new excitement and interest in both fields," said IAS HIV Cure & Cancer Forum Co-Chair Sharon Lewin. "The availability of several recent advances in cancer treatment for people living with HIV provides opportunities to understand whether these treatments can help eliminate the virus, in addition to the cancer. Gene therapy approaches now being used to treat cancer are also being studied to see whether they can help make cells resistant to HIV."

Despite extraordinary efforts, access to HIV therapy today is far from universal. Just under half of the 36.7 million people living with HIV worldwide today (46% of adults and 49% of children) receive treatment. Long-term HIV remission is an important goal not only for the individuals who face a lifetime of treatment, but also for health systems confronting the challenge of providing HIV testing, treatment and retention services to millions of people in need with diminishing resources.

The IAS HIV Cure & Cancer Forum will be held at the Institut Curie and will include abstract-driven sessions, a poster exhibition and a roundtable discussion on the latest scientific advances in HIV cure research. There will be opportunities for dialogue among scientists, clinical researchers, funders and the community involved in HIV research worldwide.

Among the forum highlights are: