Medical experts say COVID-19 can cause a number of health problems, including flu symptoms, respiratory illness and even organ damage, but new research suggests the virus may cause cancer by surprise. It has been suggested that this may have a negative impact.
The study, published Friday in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, found that COVID-19 infection is associated with cancer regression, which could be the basis for new cancer treatments in the future. .
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes coronavirus is made up of RNA (ribonucleic acid), a molecule found in all living cells.
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The study found that RNA “triggered the development of a unique type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties,” according to a press release from the Northwestern Medicine Canning Breast Institute in Chicago.
Pictured is Dr. Ankit Bharat's research team at Northwestern Medical Research Institute. (Northern Western medicine)
The newly created immune cells were able to migrate to blood vessels and tumors, something normal immune cells cannot do.
“These killer cells then swarm the tumor and begin attacking cancer cells directly, promoting tumor shrinkage,” said senior author Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine. stated in the release.
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Researchers revealed that this effect was activated by severe COVID-19 and was found to be particularly effective against melanoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. .
“This discovery opens up new avenues for cancer treatment,” Dr. Bharat said in the release.
“It gives us hope that this approach may be used to benefit patients with advanced cancer who have failed other treatments.”
Initial findings require further research
This finding has so far only been seen in animal models.
“While we are still in the early stages, this has the potential to transform cancer treatment,” Bharat said in the release.
“Our next steps include clinical trials to see if these discoveries can be used safely and effectively to help cancer patients,” study authors said. (St. Petersburg)
“Our next steps include clinical trials to see if these discoveries can be used safely and effectively to help cancer patients.”
“The putative mechanism is that major inflammatory events, such as infections, may tip the immune system toward activation against cancer.”
Dr. Mark Siegel, a professor of clinical medicine at New York University Langone Health and a senior medical analyst for Fox News, said that although this is “not a cure for cancer and was only observed in mice,” the study pointed out that it has a certain significance.
“This study shows that viruses can either cause inflammation and activate the immune system, which increases the risk of certain cancers, or, paradoxically, activate immune cells that fight specific cancers, increasing the risk of certain cancers.” “It's a reminder that there is a potential for shrinking,” said Professor Siegel, who was not involved in the study. he told FOX News Digital.
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Dr. Jacob Granville, CEO of San Francisco biotech company Sentivax, who was not involved in the study, said he was not surprised by the results.
“This phenomenon of 'spontaneous regression' following a multi-morbid, high fever infection has a known history, going back to the days when doctors were identifying cancer,” he told Fox News Digital.
The study found that RNA “triggered the development of a unique type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties,” according to a press release. (Northern Western medicine)
“Normally, the immune system can tell there's something wrong with the cancerous tissue, and cancer makes various mutations to stop the immune system from attacking it,” Granville continued. .
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“The putative mechanism is that major inflammatory events, such as infections, may tip the immune system toward activation against cancer.”
Pictured is the Northwestern Medicine building in Chicago, Illinois. (Northern Western medicine)
Studies have shown that COVID-19 vaccines may have a similar effect, but the likelihood of this being caused by an actual infection is lower, as infection makes the immune system more “excited.” higher, he added.
Still, Granville added, “this incidence is likely still not high enough to justify it as a reliable treatment.”
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The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Canned Breast Institute.
Fox News Digital has reached out to researchers for additional comment.
