Beyond HIV: Immuno-Engineering as a New Therapeutic Paradigm for Chronic Infectious and Oncological Diseases — Scientific Legacy and Translational Perspectives

This final article of the Frontières Thérapeutiques series posits that the global quest for an HIV cure has fundamentally reshaped medicine. I argue that the intense focus on combating this persistent virus has not merely produced specific technologies, but has catalyzed the emergence of a new therapeutic paradigm: immuno-engineering. This review traces how conceptual frameworks developed for HIV—confronting latency, immune exhaustion, and systemic complexity—have yielded a generalizable blueprint. I demonstrate how tools like CAR-T cells, gene editing, and therapeutic vaccines are migrating beyond virology to redefine the treatment of cancers and other chronic diseases. The article concludes that the true legacy of HIV research is the establishment of a programmable, systems-based approach to medicine, where the goal shifts from eradicating pathogens to architecting durable, engineered immunity.