{"id":13336,"date":"2025-09-03T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=13336"},"modified":"2025-09-03T17:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T21:02:26","slug":"covid-and-the-flu-can-trigger-dormant-cancer-cells-in-your-lungs-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=13336","title":{"rendered":"COVID and the flu can trigger dormant cancer cells in your lungs: study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Tracy Swartz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s ah-choo much for the body to handle.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viral infections like the flu and COVID-19<\/a> can \u201cawaken\u201d dormant breast cancer cells hiding in the lungs, paving the way for deadly metastatic disease, a new study finds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur findings indicate that individuals with a history of cancer may benefit from taking precautions against respiratory viruses,\u201d Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, <\/a>a co-leader of the study and director of Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center<\/a>\u2018s Cancer Dormancy Institute<\/a> in the Bronx, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly all cancers have the potential to spread, or metastasize, to distant parts of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancer cells can break off from the original tumor and travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to form new tumors in other organs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These rogue cells may enter a \u201cdormant state\u201d to evade detection, chemotherapy and other treatments that target rapidly dividing cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have long suspected that chronic inflammation<\/a> \u2014 when the body stays in a heightened state of alert long after the initial infection or injury has passed \u2014 can reactivate these dormant cells, allowing them to proliferate and establish new tumors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theory was bolstered during the pandemic, when anecdotal reports suggested a possible increase in\u00a0cancer death rates<\/a>, Aguirre-Ghiso said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most cancer deaths are due to metastatic disease instead of the initial tumor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To test the theory, Aguirre-Ghiso\u2019s team exposed mice with metastatic breast cancer and dormant cancer cells in their lungs to the flu or coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both cases, the infections roused the sleeper cells in the lungs, triggering a snowball effect that led to metastatic lesions within two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames,\u201d explained James DeGregori<\/a>, senior study author and deputy director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process appears to be driven by interleukin 6 (IL-6), a key protein that\u2019s crucial in regulating immune responses, inflammation and other biological processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drugs designed to block the activity of IL-6 might prevent or lessen the resurgence of metastasis after a viral infection, Aguirre-Ghiso said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings were published recently in\u00a0the journal Nature.<\/a>\u2014 a pioneering new treatment freezes it away<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though this study was conducted on mice, Aguirre-Ghiso\u2019s team identified research linking respiratory infections in cancer patients in remission to cancer metastasis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team plans to explore other cancer types and other sites of metastatic disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRespiratory viral infections are forever a part of our lives, so we need to understand the longer-term consequences of these infections,\u201d DeGregori said.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Karishma Kollipara<\/a> \u2014 a breast surgeon at Northwell\u2019s Staten Island University Hospital<\/a> \u2014 said the study underscores the importance of preventative strategies for respiratory viruses, such as vaccination, and early detection of these infections, especially in patients with cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treating the infection quickly can shorten symptoms and curb the damaging effects of persistent inflammation.11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cViruses increasing cancer risk is not a new phenomenon in medicine \u2014 HPV is well known to increase risk of cervical cancer<\/a>, and treatment of Helicobacter pylori is known to decrease stomach cancer risk<\/a>,\u201d Kollipara, who was not part of the new study, told The Post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe common thread is preventative measures, such as screening and early treatment to d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Tracy Swartz It\u2019s ah-choo much for the body to handle. Viral infections like the flu and COVID-19 can \u201cawaken\u201d dormant breast cancer cells hiding in the lungs, paving the way for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13336"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13338,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13336\/revisions\/13338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}