Longevity & AgingFlu and COVID-19 Can Awaken Dormant Breast Cancer Cells in the Lungs
A landmark Nature study demonstrates that influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections can awaken dormant disseminated breast cancer cells (DCCs) in the lungs of mice, causing rapid proliferation within days and massive metastatic expansion within two weeks. The mechanism is interleukin-6 (IL-6) dependent, and the infections impair normal anti-tumor immune responses. Crucially, these findings are supported by large-scale human observational data from the UK Biobank and Flatiron Health databases, showing that SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly increases cancer-related mortality and lung metastasis risk in cancer survivors. The study bridges infectious disease biology and cancer metastasis, suggesting viral infections may be an underappreciated trigger of late metastatic relapse.
