A new study has found that COVID-19 infection might aid cancer treatment.
Yes, you read that right: The deadly virus that triggered a global pandemic could help the human body attack cancer cells and shrink tumors, according to recent research.
This study, led by scientists from the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation on Friday. The findings suggest a link between COVID-19 and cancer regression—undoubtedly a major step for cancer treatment.
Scientists discovered that the RNA present in the SARS-CoV-2 virus aided in the development of an immune cell that carries anti-cancer properties, Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute reported in a press release. The specific cells are called “inducible nonclassical monocytes (I-NCMs)” and often attack cancer cells.
“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,” Ankit Bharat, MD, senior author of the study, said in the press release. “What makes these cells so special is their dual capability … The I-NCMs created during severe COVID-19 retain a unique receptor called CCR2, allowing them to travel beyond blood vessels and infiltrate the tumor environment.”
The I-NCMs then release chemicals that trigger “natural killer cells” to attack the cancer cells of a tumor, essentially helping to shrink it, Bharat said.
While this certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all for cancer treatment, it’s a step in the right direction—and a positive that came from the negative event that was the pandemic.
“This discovery opens up a new avenue for cancer treatment,” Bharat, chief of Thoracic Surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute, said in the press release. “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.”
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