Can COVID-19 help the body fight cancer? Shocking new study links virus to shrinking tumors

Scientists have discovered a surprising silver lining of COVID-19 infection.A new study by researchers at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, revealed a correlation between COVID-19 infection and cancer regression.Though doctors at Northwestern University warned that the research is still in early stages, they’re hopeful that more tests could lead to new treatments in the future.The team observed that the RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can trigger the development of anti-cancer immune cells.Called “inducible nonclassical monocytes (I-NCMs),” these immune cells showed the potential to attack cancer cells, opening up new possibilities for treatment.

Rare compared to other types of monocytes, I-NCMs multiply when inflammation materializes, as it does during COVID-19 infection.“We found that the same cells activated by severe COVID-19 could be induced with a drug to fight cancer, and we specifically saw a response with melanoma, lung, breast and colon cancer in the study,” said study author Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute.

“While this is still in the early stages and the effectiveness was only studied in preclinical animal models, it offers hope that we might be able to use this approach to benefit patients with advanced cancers that have not responded to other treatments.”Creating this subset of immune cells begins when the RNA from COVID-19 sends a signal to the immune system that turns normal monocytes, a type of white blood cell, into I-NCMs.These can spread into the blood vessels and the surrounding tissue where tumors develop, a dual capability that distinguishes them from most other immune cells.

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