Severe COVID or flu may raise lung cancer risk years later

Topic: Cancer, Respiratory Diseases

Severe cases of COVID-19 and influenza may do more than cause short-term illness. New research from UVA Health's Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research and the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that severe viral infections can create conditions in the lungs that help cancer develop and progress more quickly.

Study Findings

Researchers led by UVA School of Medicine scientist Jie Sun, PhD, discovered that severe respiratory infections can alter immune cells in the lungs in ways that support tumor growth months or even years later. The study found a 1.24-fold increase in lung cancer incidence among patients who had been hospitalized for COVID-19.

"A bad case of COVID or flu can leave the lungs in a long-lasting 'inflamed' state that makes it easier for cancer to take hold later," said Sun, co-director of UVA's Carter Center and a member of UVA's Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health.

Implications

The study's findings have important immediate implications for how we monitor patients after severe respiratory viral infection. The researchers recommend that doctors closely watch patients who recover from severe COVID, flu, or pneumonia so lung cancer can be detected early, when treatment is most effective.