COVID-19 virus could attack cancer cells and shrink tumors, new study suggests

COVID-19 can cause a long list of health issues, including flu symptoms, respiratory problems and even organ damage, according to medical experts — but a new study suggests that the virus could have a surprising impact on cancer.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on Friday, found that COVID infection was linked to cancer regression, which could serve as a foundation for new cancer treatments in the future.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus — which causes COVID — is made up of RNA (ribonucleic acid), a molecule that is found in all living cells.

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In the study, RNA was found to "trigger the development of a unique type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties," according to a press release from the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute in Chicago.

Dr. Ankit Bharat's research team is pictured at the Northwestern Medicine lab. (Northwestern Medicine)

The newly created immune cells were able to move into the blood vessels and tumors — something typical immune cells cannot do.

"These killer cells then swarm the tumor and start attacking the cancer cells directly, helping to shrink the tumor," noted senior author Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine, in the release.

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This effect was activated by severe COVID-19, the researchers found, and was specifically seen to be effective against melanoma, lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer.

"This discovery opens up a new avenue for cancer treatment," Bharat said in the release.

"It offers hope that we might be able to use this approach to benefit patients with advanced cancers who have not responded to other treatments."

Early findings warrant more research

This finding has so far only been seen in animal models.

"We are in the early stages, but the potential to transform cancer treatment is there," Bharat said in the release. 

"Our next steps will involve clinical trials to see if we can safely and effectively use these findings to help cancer patients," the study author said. (iStock)

"Our next steps will involve clinical trials to see if we can safely and effectively use these findings to help cancer patients."

"The presumed mechanism is that a major inflammation event like an infection can tip the scales toward activating the immune system against a cancer."

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and senior medical analyst for Fox News, pointed out that while this is "not a cancer cure and was only seen in mice," the study does have some significance.

"It reminds us that viruses cause inflammation and rev up the immune system, which can either increase your risk of certain cancers or, paradoxically, cause certain cancers to shrink by activating immune cells against them," Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.

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Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, also was not involved in the study but said he wasn’t surprised by the findings.

"There's a known history of this phenomenon of ‘spontaneous regression’ following an infection with a high fever in multiple illnesses, dating back as far as doctors have been identifying cancer," he told Fox News Digital.

In the study, RNA was found to "trigger the development of a unique type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties," according to a press release. (Northwestern Medicine)

"Normally, the immune system can tell there's something wrong with cancerous tissue, but cancers develop various mutations to hold the immune system back from attacking them," Glanville went on.

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"The presumed mechanism is that a major inflammation event like an infection can tip the scales toward activating the immune system against cancer."

The Northwestern Medicine building is pictured in Chicago, Illinois. (Northwestern Medicine)

Studies have shown that COVID-19 vaccines could have the same effect, he added, but it’s likely more common for an actual infection to cause this, as the immune system is more "riled up" by the infection.

Even so, Glanville added, "The rate of this happening likely isn't yet high enough to justify it as a reliable therapy."

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The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Canning Thoracic Institute.

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for additional comment.