Latest news with #DeGregori
National Geographic
5 days ago
- Health
- National Geographic
How a simple cold could bring cancer back
In mice, common respiratory infections reactivated dormant cancer cells. Early evidence suggests the same may happen in humans, with big implications for long-term cancer risk. This colored transmission electron micrograph shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (gold) inside endosomes of infected olfactory epithelial cells. New research suggests that when respiratory viruses like COVID-19 reach the lungs, they may trigger the reactivation of dormant breast cancer cells. Micrograph by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health/Science Photo Library Some cancer cells don't die—they go dormant. Long after remission, these 'sleeping' cells can linger silently in the body, tucked alongside stem cells in organs like the lungs, liver, or brain. For years, scientists have puzzled over what, if anything, might wake them. Now, a new study published in Nature suggests that common respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 may do precisely that. 'They could sit there for years and decades, and we don't really fully understand what awakens them,' says James DeGregori, a researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. 'And so what we asked was, could an infection of the lungs awaken such cells? And we found that they could, in a pretty dramatic fashion.' The findings raise big questions for cancer survivors. Could a cold or the coronavirus infection quietly trigger cancer's return? And what role does the immune system play in all of it? Here's what scientists are discovering—and why the answer may lie in how the body fights viruses. How COVID and the flu may trigger cancer's return DeGregori and a robust team of doctors and researchers found that the flu and COVID-19 can awaken dormant cancer cells in the lungs, at least in mice. A separate accompanying survey of tens of thousands of cancer patients from the COVID-19 pandemic showed that the same thing might be occurring in humans. Previous studies have already linked inflammation caused by bacterial infections or cigarette smoke to the reactivation of dormant cancer cells in the lungs. So the team wanted to know if respiratory illnesses might have the same effect. To test this, the researchers gave the flu and SARS-CoV-2 to mice that had been genetically engineered to have breast cancer. In response, dormant cancer cells that had quietly spread to the lungs began to wake up. (A new blood test can tell if cancer has returned months before a scan.) For about a week and a half, the cells stayed awake, but in most cases, fell dormant again once the infection was gone. 'The respiratory virus infection causes outgrowth of these cells over a couple week period, but then they go back to sleep.' DeGregori says. 'But now they've expanded out on the order of 100-fold.' So, even though many of the mice didn't immediately get lung cancer, during the infection period, their risk of once again developing cancer increased drastically as dormant cancer used the time to multiply rapidly. The culprit behind this reawakening was interleukin-6, or IL-6—a protein the immune system uses to coordinate its response to infection. 'It's basically just a protein that normally travels between cells,' DeGregori explains. 'It can normally be a healthy thing within your body to help clear out an infection, for example.' But when IL-6 meets up with dormant cancer cells, that's a problem. 'So when the dormant cells are present, they take advantage of that inflammatory environment, and it's used to help them expand, to help them grow out and awaken and create now, a situation where you have a far greater metastatic burden. The cancer cells are usurping a mechanism that would normally be used to get rid of the virus and move on with your life,' DeGregori says. Could the same thing happen in humans? Scientists don't know if this is the same situation that happens when human cancer survivors get respiratory illnesses, but early evidence suggests it's possible. An analysis of two databases of cancer patients revealed a significant association between cancer-related death and metastasis in the lungs following a coronavirus infection. Data from the UK Biobank showed that cancer-related deaths in patients diagnosed with cancer at least five years before the pandemic were almost double in patients who contracted COVID-19. In another group of specifically breast cancer patients, their risk of lung cancer increased by nearly 50 percent with a positive coronavirus diagnosis. (Why cancer rates are rising in young women—and what to do about it.) One reason dormant cells often escape treatment is that they behave differently from typical tumor cells, says Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso, the director of the Cancer Dormancy Institute, who was involved in the study. That's why, even in patients in remission, dormant cancer cells can linger. 'The therapies that we have are conceptualized to target dividing cells, and these dormant cancer cells that are sleeping are not dividing,' he says. Still, many patients, even those who contract a respiratory illness, can live the rest of their lives with dormant cancer cells that never reawaken, Aguirre-Ghiso says. 'Some patients may be at this threshold where they were about to reactivate, or they have more advanced disease, and then the inflammation pushes them all the way to symptomatic disease and lethal in some cases.' he says. 'But there may be many patients that undergo many infections but may not fully engage in a total reactivation mechanism that brings them to lethality or symptomatic disease.' Regardless, if what happened in mice is similar to human responses to respiratory illness, contracting the flu or the coronavirus could be a significant risk factor for cancer patients in remission. Inflammation could be giving dormant cells the leeway to multiply, which can severely increase future risk, even if they fall dormant again after just a few weeks. (When should you get screened for breast cancer—and how often?) Even though doctors don't know for sure how many cancer patients develop dormant cells, based on the association between COVID-19 infection and lung-related cancer deaths, taking precautions to avoid respiratory illness may be beneficial for cancer patients to prevent sleeping cells from waking up. 'It's a no-brainer that people, especially people who have had treatment for cancer and have may have long-term effects on their immune system, should continue to be up to date on their current vaccinations,' says Edwin Ostrin, a pulmonologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas who was not involved in the study.
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Common Viruses May Wake Dormant Breast Cancer Cells, Study Finds
Breast cancer patients who have been in remission for years or even decades may still need to be cautious about respiratory infections. Some common viruses may re-awaken a very small number of dormant breast cancer cells within our lungs, according to emerging research. "Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames," argues molecular geneticist James DeGregori from the University of Colorado. Related: The research began following the COVID-19 pandemic, when DeGregori and his colleagues began to notice a curious uptick in cancer cases. To find out more, the international team turned to human population studies and mouse models. They found that patients in remission for cancer in the UK Biobank who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 later showed a twofold increase in cancer-related death. "The extent of this increased risk is almost unheard of in epidemiology for cancer," says epidemiologist Roel Vermeulen from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. "It's a significant effect." That's not all researchers found, either. Analyzing a separate breast cancer database from the United States, including nearly 37,000 patients, they discovered that a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a greater than 40 percent increased risk of metastatic breast cancer in the lungs. Studies in mice suggest that viruses might be behind the spread. Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections triggered dormant breast cancer cells in mice to proliferate after only days of infection. Within two weeks, there was "a massive expansion of carcinoma cells into metastatic lesions" by more than 100-fold, write the authors, led by molecular geneticist Shi Chia from the University of Colorado. "Although species differences warrant caution in interpreting mouse data… collectively, these findings underscore the substantial metastatic risk COVID-19 posed to cancer survivors," warn the team. For years now, scientists have suspected that some highly common viruses, like the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), have the potential to trigger certain cancers. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is already known to do this. That's why the HPV vaccine has proved so life-changing for millions. It prevents deadly, viral-associated diseases, like cervical cancer. Since 1936, scientists have been searching for a virus that triggers breast cancer in a similar way, mostly in mice and human population studies. High-risk viruses have been detected in human breast cancer samples. EBV, for instance, is five times higher in breast cancer tissue than in normal tissue. But while the idea that viruses may predispose us to cancer is plausible, research in human cells is limited, and the mechanism underlying the disease spread remains undetermined. The immune system's response to viruses could possibly play a role. After initial remission, a tiny number of breast cancer cells can remain dormant in lung, bone, and liver tissue. Sometimes, inflammation can wake these cancer cells up – and viral respiratory infections, like the flu and COVID-19, can cause inflammation. In the current mouse experiments, the influenza A virus only reawakened dormant cancer cells in the lung if they triggered an increase in inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6. The same was true of the coronavirus. The findings suggest that the immune system's response to viruses breeds the perfect environment for cancer to proliferate. "What our data suggest is that if you are a cancer patient who has these dormant cells, you may end up living a normal life and dying with these dormant cells, instead of dying because those dormant cells awakened," says DeGregori. "But if you get a respiratory virus like influenza or COVID, your chance of dying from those dormant cells awakening is much greater." If that's true, then it will be vital to protect the millions of breast cancer survivors out there who may face an increased risk of relapse if they get sick. Further research is needed to see if vaccination against influenza or COVID-19 can help. The study was published in Nature. Related News Study Reveals The Shocking Amount of Plastic We Breathe in Every Day Researchers Identified New Blood Group After 50 Year Mystery Sleepiness Could Be Triggered by a Power Overload in Our Brain Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
30-07-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Respiratory Viruses Risk Waking Dormant Cancer
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Respiratory infections like COVID-19 and the flu may increase the risk of dormant breast cancer cells reactivating and spreading in those with a history of the disease. This is the conclusion of a study based on experiments with mice and observational human health data by researchers at the University of Colorado, the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) in New York and Utrecht University. Such an awakening, the team warn, could trigger new metastatic tumors. "Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire—and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames," said paper author James DeGregori of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in a statement. The findings highlight the need for patients to be aware of the risk between infection and cancer spread. For affected patients, "The simplest strategy would be to avoid infection (vaccination, avoiding crowded places during flu season, etc)," DeGregori told Newsweek. An illustration of cancer cells marked with green, and the proliferation of cells marked in magenta. An illustration of cancer cells marked with green, and the proliferation of cells marked in magenta. Michael DeGregori Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Around 316,950 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. this year, with more than 42,000 women expected to die from the disease this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society. After remission, cancer cells may remain dormant for years before spreading— notably in the lungs or other organs—and causing a relapse. As viral respiratory infections like SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) are associated with inflammation, this may trigger processes that could cause cancer cells to spread. A rise in cancer death rates in the first two years of the pandemic led DeGregori and his colleagues to study the effects of the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections on breast cancer outcomes in mouse models. They determined that these infections reduced the dormancy of breast cancer cells in the lungs. The cancer cells multiplied within days of infection, leading to the expansion of metastatic cancer lesions within two weeks. Inflammatory pathways are implicated in this effect, the researchers found. "The study proves that the general phenomenon can also be observed in humans. Of course, the authors cannot prove that it is the same mechanism, as these are epidemiological data," said professor Carsten Watzl, Scientific Director of the Immunology Research Unit of the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors Dortmund. An image showing the awakening of dormant cancer cells. An image showing the awakening of dormant cancer cells. Bryan Johnson Analysis of molecules revealed that the awakening of dormant cancer cells is driven by a protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6), which immune cells release in response to infections or injuries. "The identification of IL-6 as a key mediator in arousing DCCs from dormancy suggests that using IL-6 inhibitors or other targeted immunotherapies might prevent or lessen the resurgence of metastasis following viral infection," said paper author and MECCC cell biologist Julio Aguirre-Ghiso said in a statement. The researchers also examined whether patients with cancer that tested positive for COVID-19 might have an increased risk of cancer-related death, analyzing data from the UK Biobank (4,837 participants, all cancer types) and Flatiron Health (36,845 patients with breast cancer) databases. They discovered an association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk of death in the Biobank group. Patients that tested positive SARS-CoV-2 showed a twofold increase in cancer-related death compared to those who were negative. In the Flatiron group, the infection was associated with an increase of more than 40 percent in the risk of metastatic disease in the lungs. It should be noted the new study focused on the period before COVID-19 vaccines were available. Although the studies were limited to those previously diagnosed with cancer, or mice that had dormant cells already when infected, DeGregori cautioned that the team, "couldn't rule out an effect on those with active cancer." Cell and molecular biologist John Alcorn of the University of Pittsburg told Newsweek, "This study does not address how bad of a COVID or flu infection is needed to trigger this type of response. Another prevention would be to have imaging done if you are a cancer patient in remission who gets a viral pneumonia. This could lead to early detection or resurgence and increased treatment options." DeGregori added: "Additional research and clinical studies will be needed for the development of interventions that could be applied during the infection, and we are actively working to develop such interventions." The researchers plan to extend their analyses, both in animal models and of clinical data, to other cancer types and areas of metastatic disease. Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about breast cancer? Let us know via health@ Reference Chia, S. B., Johnson, B. J., Hu, J., Valença-Pereira, F., Chadeau-Hyam, M., Guntoro, F., Montgomery, H., Boorgula, M. P., Sreekanth, V., Goodspeed, A., Davenport, B., De Dominici, M., Zaberezhnyy, V., Schleicher, W. E., Gao, D., Cadar, A. N., Petriz-Otaño, L., Papanicolaou, M., Beheshti, A., Baylin, S. B., ... DeGregori, J. (2025). Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs. Nature.
