Overview
- An analysis of the Epic Cosmos electronic health records found roughly a 1.24-fold increase in lung cancer incidence over subsequent years among patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.
- In mouse models, prior severe respiratory viral pneumonia accelerated tumor growth once oncogenic drivers were introduced, with tumor-associated neutrophils rising and cytotoxic CD8 T cells declining.
- The study indicates infection does not create oncogenic mutations but can act as a cooperating factor that speeds progression of already mutated cells.
- Prior vaccination prevented many of the cancer-promoting lung changes in animal models, and people with only mild COVID-19 showed no elevated risk and a slight decrease in some analyses.
- Authors recommend enhanced follow-up for patients recovering from severe COVID-19, flu or pneumonia, including consideration of screening CTs in high-risk groups, while pursuing human tissue validation and testing targeted approaches such as CXCR2 inhibition with PD-L1 blockade.