Stopping ART as part of HIV cure-related research: experiences from the RIO study

4 October 2026. Related: Journal scan, Treatment strategies, Cure-related research.

Simon Collins, HIV i-Base

A paper by Jesal Gohil and colleagues from the RIO study, published open-access, reports on both psychological and more practical quality-of-life experiences of 20 participants taking an analytic treatment interruption (ATI). 

Although stopping ART is often included as part of cure-related research, relatively few studies focus on the impact ATIs have on study participants. The wide range of potential responses range from anxiety after stopping ART to complications with personal relationships from no longer having an undetectable viral load.

The paper also reports the positive experiences of being a study participant, including an altruistic chance to contribute to research and closer connections with health professionals.

Although ATIs are generally assumed to be short-term, lasting only a few weeks or months, some participants in the RIO study have been able to safely remain off ART for several years.

This raised issues that were underappreciated when the study was designed, including the continued need for close monitoring over such a long time and living with the uncertainty of viral suppression.

A better understanding of these experiences can hopefully help when planning future research, as the lack of surrogate markers for effective responses means that ATIs are likely to remain essential in cure-related research.

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Although a short time off treatment is generally safe, there is still no data on potential long-term complications of taking an ATI.

This is the aim of a new research study called COAST.

COAST will be the first study to compile results, both prospectively and retrospectively, despite ATIs being included in research studies for over ten years. [2]

Note: Simon Collins is a co-author on this paper and is a community member on the RIO and COAST studies.

References

1. Gohil J et al on behalf of the RIO study. Participant experiences of stopping ART as part of a clinical trial findings from a qualitative study within the RIO trial in the United Kingdom. HIV Research & Clinical Practice 27(1).
   https://doi.org/10.1080/25787489.2026.2739700
2. Lee MJ et al. The impact of analytical treatment interruptions and trial interventions on time to viral re-suppression in people living with HIV restarting ART in cure-related clinical studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Int AIDS Soc. 2024 Aug;27(8):e26349. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26349.
   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39155436