Fox Infections like influenza and COVID-19 may do more than cause temporary illness. A new study suggests they can also “wake up” dormant cancer cells, potentially increasing the risk of recurrence and metastasis years after treatment. The research, led by Dr. James DeGregori at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, was published July 30 in Nature. Scientists tested how respiratory viruses affect dormant cancer cells using mouse models of breast cancer, and then compared those findings with large patient health datasets. How respiratory viruses reawaken dormant cancer cells
Cancer cells can sometimes break away from the original tumor and linger quietly in other parts of the body for years, a state researchers call dormancy. What causes them to reawaken has long been unclear.
The Colorado team found that in mice, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections triggered inflammation that reactivated these cells in the lungs. Within three days of infection, cancer cells began multiplying rapidly, and the effect persisted for months.
The awakening process depended on an inflammatory molecule called IL-6. When mice lacked IL-6, the cancer cells were far less likely to restart growth.
“Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames,” DeGregori said.