HIV cure on the horizon? Study finds potential HIV cure using cancer drug

A red ribon used for HIV awareness.

Australian researchers have found that a medicine used to treat blood cancer can kill 'silent' HIV cells and delay reoccurrence in a milestone pre-clinical discovery that could lead to a future cure for the disease.

Antiretroviral therapy, the standard management for HIV, can remove traces of the virus from the blood, but a hidden reservoir of HIV persists in the cells of patients on treatment. This means patients are never completely cured and need to be on HIV drugs for the rest of their lives.