COVID significantly increases risk of death from metastatic cancer, new study shows
Women who have a history of breast cancer may be at increased risk of recurrence and/or metastases following certain viral infections.
New research published in Nature last week suggests that viruses like COVID-19 and the flu could awaken dormant cancer cells that have previously spread to the lungs, triggering rapid growth of metastatic disease. Based on data derived from the U.K. Biobank, these infections can, in many cases, double an individual’s risk of dying from cancer.
"Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames," senior author James DeGregori, PhD, deputy director of CU Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado, said in a release on the findings.
Researchers initially made the determination about virus-induced inflammatory responses spurring the onset of metastatic disease in a mouse model. That analysis concluded that viral infections could lead to loss of the pro-dormancy phenotype in breast dormant disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) in the lung, which causes DCC proliferation “within days of infection and a massive expansion of carcinoma cells into metastatic lesions within two weeks.”
The team compared these findings alongside observational data from the U.K. Biobank (all cancers) and Flatiron Health (breast cancer) database. That portion of the study focused on individuals who were diagnosed with and survived cancer a minimum of five years prior to the onset of COVID. When analyzing deaths among this group post-COVID, the group found that individuals who tested positive for the virus were twice as likely to die from cancer compared to those who tested negative. Deaths owed to cancer after COVID infections were even higher during the time between December 2020 and January 2022, further emphasizing the impact of the virus during some of its peak months.
“These discoveries underscore the huge impact of respiratory viral infections on metastatic cancer resurgence, offering new insights into the connection between infectious diseases and cancer metastasis,” the group wrote, adding that these findings are important for researchers looking to develop interventions that could help limit metastatic disease in cancer patients.
It should be noted the study focused on a time period before vaccines were available.
Read more about the study here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.