Health
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.
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.
Health
RFK Jr. says kids 'swimming' in 'poisonous' foods as Dr. Marc Siegel calls out ‘sick care system’
Since President-elect Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week, there has been a heightened focus on Kennedy’s initiative to “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA).
One of Kennedy’s widely reported goals has been to reduce kids’ consumption of ultraprocessed foods.
“We have a generation of kids who are swimming around in a toxic soup right now,” Kennedy previously told Fox News. “We’re letting these industries corrupt our agencies and mass poison them.”
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Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News, joined “Fox & Friends” on Monday to discuss the HHS Secretary nominee’s plans to reduce ultraprocessed foods, which have been shown to make up 73% of the country’s food supply.
One of the biggest dangers associated with the current food supply is food dyes, Siegel said.
“Food coloring is a problem,” he said. “Red Dye No. 3 has been banned in Europe. They’re banning it in California. It’s been associated with cancer in animals.”
Food dyes have been associated with hyperactivity in children, Siegel warned.
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Democrats and Republicans alike have pushed for banning food dyes, the doctor noted, but the food industry and food lobbyists have fought back.
“There’s a concern here that if this ends up with more regulations, that will drive prices up — and food grocery store prices are already a problem,” Siegel added.
Some of the most harmful additives include MSG and high-fructose corn syrup, the latter of which “directly causes obesity,” according to Siegel. (iStock)
In terms of ultraprocessed foods, Siegel said he agrees with Kennedy’s claims that kids are “swimming in a toxic soup.”
Some of the most harmful additives include MSG and high-fructose corn syrup, the latter of which “directly causes obesity,” according to Siegel.
“We’ve got to go back to a healthier lifestyle, and then we’ll have less money spent on being ultra sick.”
Nitrates are also a concern, as they have been shown to cause cancer in animals, the doctor said, as well as excess sugar and salt.
“People just get drawn in to eat and eat and eat, and they gain weight,” Siegel said.
“When they gain weight, they get high blood pressure, they get diabetes, they get heart disease, and they have a risk for cancer.”
Siegel pointed to some significant regulatory obstacles that Kennedy will need to overcome.
“We have a generation of kids who are swimming around in a toxic soup right now,” Kennedy previously told Fox News. “We’re letting these industries corrupt our agencies and mass poison them.” (iStock)
“There’s pressure being put on the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) by the food industry, by the pharmaceutical industry, by the lobby groups in Congress,” he said.
“They have so much power, they pretty much dwarf the FDA.”
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The goal isn’t to “squash big pharma,” however, Siegel said, pointing out that pharmaceutical companies are “doing great things,” such as coming up with “tremendous new treatments” and personalized solutions through artificial intelligence and other biotechnologies.
However, he noted, the health care system tends to operate like a “sick care system,” making money from people’s illnesses.
“People just get drawn in to eat and eat and eat, and they gain weight,” Siegel said. “When they gain weight, they get high blood pressure, they get diabetes, they get heart disease, and they have a risk for cancer.” (iStock)
“They should give tax incentives for going on the treadmill or taking a walk in the morning or eating farm-to-table food or having more produce,” Siegel said.
“We’ve got to go back to a healthier lifestyle, and then we’ll have less money spent on being ultra sick.”
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Overall, Siegel said, Kennedy is “on the right track” with his plans to fight ultraprocessed foods.
“Whether he can accomplish it is a different story,” he added.
A mother and daughter are sharing how and why people think they’re sisters.
California native Kelly Cantu, 40, and her daughter Madison, 20, claim they’re often mistaken for being sisters.
Kelly Cantu said she was just 20 years old when she had her daughter — and was excited to have her very own “mini me,” as Jam Press reported.
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That wasn’t just wishful thinking, the outlet noted.
As the daughter grew, the similarities between the two started to show.
A mother and daughter are sharing how and why people think they’re sisters. On the right-hand side, can you tell which one is which? (Jam Press)
Eventually, when young Madison turned 13 and mom Kelly was only 33, people started asking if the two of them were sisters.
“She was in high school when it started,” Kelly Cantu, a content creator, told What’s the Jam.
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“It would happen when I was picking her up. I was constantly being mistaken for her sister or another student,” she said.
“We both found it very funny.”
Madison Cantu said, “My friends and other classmates — when they first met my mom — would always ask if she was my sister. And their parents would always do the same!”
Kelly Cantu said she was just 20 years old when she had her daughter, Madison Cantu — and was excited to have her very own “mini me,” as Jam Press reported. Mother and daughter are shown in both pictures here. (Jam Press)
The duo said it has not stopped since then. They’ve said it happens not just in public, but online as well.
Said Kelly Cantu, “Any time we are out and I refer to her as ‘Baby Girl’ and someone finds out I’m her mom, people always say, ‘I thought you were sisters.’”
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The mother said it does become embarrassing at times.
“When Madison was younger, I would laugh,” she said. “But I do get embarrassed at times. Especially when people start asking how old I was when I had her.”
Eventually, when young Madison turned 13 and mom Kelly was only 33, people started asking if the two of them were sisters. Mom Kelly Cantu is shown holding her baby at left, and in the right-hand shot, at far right. (Jam Press)
The younger Cantu said she’s more than happy to hear it from time to time, however.
She said, “I think it’s funny, and I hope that her good genetics will rub off on me. When people find out she’s my parent and not my sister, they’re always shocked.”
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And they “usually make a comment about how she appears so young.”
She added, “I feel honored because she’s such a beautiful woman. Everyone says it and I know it, too. I hope I look just as good when I’m 40!”
“I think it’s funny, and I hope that her good genetics will rub off on me,” the younger Cantu said. “When people find out she’s my parent and not my sister, they’re always shocked.” (Jam Press)
The mother-daughter duo often go out in matching colors, they said.
Kelly Cantu, who is now living in England, said, “I love matching … I’ve been trying to match or at least wear color-corresponding colors. I actually just ordered us matching Christmas jumpers and Christmas pajamas,” she added.
Said Kelly Cantu, at left, “I love any time we hear we look alike. My daughter is the most beautiful person in the world to me, so for someone to think we look like means a lot to me.” (Jam Press)
She also said, “Once I dyed my hair dark to look more like Madison, too.”
The pair said they take the similarities in stride.
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Said Kelly Cantu, “I love any time we hear we look alike. My daughter is the most beautiful person in the world to me, so for someone to think we look like means a lot to me.”
Even their family and friends think the two are “practically identical,” Jam Press noted.
The mother and daughter say they are “each other’s best friends.” (Jam Press)
Kelly Cantu said, “My mother always tells me how she can’t get over how similar we look and act. I think moreso now … I would say my daughter and I are best friends and go everywhere together and act pretty similar.”
People have said they find it “strange” that they’re so close, said the mother.
But both women said they don’t care about that — as they feel they are “each other’s best friends.”
Health
A holiday gift guide for the fitness lover in your life, including workout equipment, athletic gear
That time of year is almost here: the time to start pondering what to buy your loved ones for Christmas.
As the years go by, ideas can run thin, and finding that perfect gift can be a challenge.
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