The research laboratory of Ankit Bharat, MD, the senior author of the study (Northwestern)
Would you believe that the Covid-19 virus, the Coronavirus, the disease that shut down the entire world for a year, could be the key to curing cancer? Well, some scientists think it just might be.
Northwestern Medicine researchers have made a significant breakthrough in cancer research. Their study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, reveals a surprising connection between COVID-19 infection and cancer regression. This finding could revolutionize cancer treatment.
In their surprising discovery, the scientists found that the RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can trigger the development of immune cells with cancer-fighting properties. These cells, known as inducible nonclassical monocytes (I-NCMs), target cancer cells and may offer hope for treating drug-resistant cancers. This finding could explain why some cancer patients have experienced tumor regression after COVID-19 infection.
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“This discovery opens up a new avenue for cancer treatment,” said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of Thoracic Surgery, the Harold L. and Margaret N. Method Professor of Surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute, who was senior author of the study. “We found that the same cells activated by severe COVID-19 could be induced with a drug to fight cancer, and we specifically saw a response with melanoma, lung, breast and colon cancer in the study. While this is still in the early stages and the effectiveness was only studied in preclinical animal models, it offers hope that we might be able to use this approach to benefit patients with advanced cancers that have not responded to other treatments.”
The study, conducted using both human tissues and animal models, found that these unique immune cells could be pharmacologically stimulated using small molecules, potentially creating a new therapeutic option for cancer patients. This discovery could have significant implications, particularly for patients with aggressive or advanced cancers who have exhausted traditional treatment options such as immunotherapies.
“What makes these cells so special is their dual capability,” Bharat said. “Typically, immune cells called non-classical monocytes patrol blood vessels, looking for threats. But they can’t enter the tumor site itself due to the lack of specific receptors. In contrast, the I-NCMs created during severe COVID-19 retain a unique receptor called CCR2, allowing them to travel beyond blood vessels and infiltrate the tumor environment. Once there, they release certain chemicals to recruit body’s natural killer cells. These killer cells then swarm the tumor and start attacking the cancer cells directly, helping to shrink the tumor.”
While this research is promising, Bharat cautions that more work is needed before this approach can be used in clinical settings.
