Immune Systems Advisor

Spike protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, potentially promotes cancer by interfering with anti-cancer activities, according to a recent preprint cell study from Brown University. The preprint authors, led by Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, director of the Cancer Center at Brown University, exposed cancer cells to spike protein subunits. They found that the spike subunits may promote cancer survival and growth by blocking a cancer suppressor gene known as p53 . The gene—the most commonly affected by cancer—stops cancer cell growth and encourages DNA repair. “Interfering with p53 can promote cancer development as well as aid cancer growth,” Dr. El-Deiry told The Epoch Times. When exposed to chemotherapy, cancer cells containing spike protein subunits had a better chance of survival. “We saw enhanced cancer cell viability in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 spike S2 subunit after treatment with several chemotherapy agents,” said Dr. El-Deiry. Spike Subunits Block Anti-Cancer Gene The ...

In a report published on Jan. 17, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that new cancer cases will surpass 2 million in 2024, hitting a record high. While the risk of dying from cancer has declined, cancer incidence has been rising for six of the most common cancers: breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, kidney, and melanoma. The new estimates represent a 2 percent increase from the ACS’s 2023 estimates. “Overall cancer incidence is stable in men and increases slightly by 0.1 percent per year in women. The number of cancer cases increases each year mostly because of the aging and growth of the population,” Rebecca L. Siegel, lead author of the report , cancer epidemiologist, and senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, told The Epoch Times. “Prostate cancer is the most rapidly increasing—by 3 percent per year—mostly due to advanced-stage disease diagnosis ,” Ms. Siegel added. The report found that cancers have also been increasing...