Treatment With Immunological Checkpoint Inhibitors of HIV-infected Subjects With Cancer

It has been reported that peripheral and lymph node resident Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4)+ T cells expressing Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) contribute to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) persistence during Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). In HIV-infected individuals, PD-1 expression on CD4+ T cells correlates with HIV disease progression, and loss of HIV-specific CD4+ T cell function can be reversed in vitro by PD-1 blockade. There are only a limited number of case reports describing the evolution of HIV-infected patients with concurrent oncological disease treated with immunological checkpoint inhibitors. However, this case provides very limited information on the effect of pembrolizumab on the HIV reservoir. Here, the investigators aim at describing changes in the HIV reservoir and in the HIV-specific immunity in HIV-infected patients on ART who receive immunological checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, especially for metastatic melanoma.