“I have never seen anything like this in my 23-year career.”
Publika.az American oncologist Kashyap Patel told the Washington Post.
He noted that after the Covid-19 pandemic, rare types of cancer are observed in unexpected people. The doctor thinks it could be caused by a virus.
It has been known for at least 60 years that viruses can increase the risk of cancer. In fact, it is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of cancers worldwide are caused by infectious viruses such as HPV, Epstein-Barr, and Hepatitis B. Since Covid-19 is a new virus, it seems impossible to give a definite answer about its link with cancer.
On the other hand, doctors who have encountered interesting cases since the start of the pandemic are worried. One of them, Kashyap Patel, discovered bile duct cancer in a 40-year-old man in 2021. This rare, fatal cancer usually occurs in people in their 70s and 80s.
Carolina Blood and Cancer Association CEO Dr. Patel says his colleagues have encountered similar rarities.
“It’s like a cold, it’s like everyone has cancer,” the doctor explained the situation.
He diagnosed his 78-year-old patient with larynx, liver and lung cancer within a year. Bob and Bonnie, a couple with no family history, were diagnosed with 3 cancers within 14 months. 73-year-old Bob was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2022, and lung cancer this year. A cancerous mass weighing about 4 kilos was found in Bonnie’s stomach.
“Although chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a very rare type of cancer, patients report that several people they know have this disease,” the doctor emphasized.
The doctor pointed out that the coronavirus antibodies in the blood of these three patients “reached their peak”. Patel isn’t sure how this might explain the link to cancer. However, according to him, it is strange that different types of cancer appear in different parts of the body in such a short period of time.
David Tuveson, director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center in New York and former president of the American Association for Cancer Research, says there is no evidence that the coronavirus causes cells to become cancerous. On the other hand, a study published in 2023 showed that the virus can change genes that prevent the formation of tumors and cause inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation can also contribute to the formation of cancer cells in various organs. “Covid destroys the body and this can lead to cancer,” Tuveson said, noting that patients who die from Covid-19 have prematurely aged cells.
Dr. Patel claims that getting the virus more than once increases inflammation throughout the body and reactivates cancer cells.
Some experts say that the increase in cancer can be caused by interruptions in health services during the pandemic. In 2020, it is estimated that there will be 19.3 million new cancer cases worldwide, but in 2022 this number will reach approximately 20 million.
Shuesong Han, Scientific Director of Health Services Research at the American Cancer Society, also believes that the increase in the disease may be due to fear of the virus or delays in treatment due to economic reasons.
However, acknowledging that the Covid-19 virus may play a role, Han added:
“I don’t have data to support that idea. But it’s a question that needs to be answered.”
(Medicina.az)
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