Overview

• Analyses of UK Biobank and Flatiron Health records show cancer survivors infected with COVID-19 from early 2020 faced about twice the metastasis-related death rate in the UK and a 44% higher rate among US breast cancer patients compared with uninfected peers.
• Earlier mouse studies revealed that flu or COVID-19 infection boosts interleukin-6–mediated inflammation, which reactivates dormant tumor cells in the lungs.
• The peak in metastatic deaths occurs in the months immediately after infection and reflects an inflammatory environment rather than direct viral spread of cancer.
• Researchers are calling for assessments of later COVID-19 variants, infection severity and other respiratory pathogens alongside clinical trials of IL-6 inhibitors to block tumor cell reawakening.
• Cancer survivors are advised to stay current on respiratory vaccinations and minimize exposure to lower the risk of inflammation-triggered cancer relapse.