Immune, Vascular, and Metabolic Pathways Linking SARS-CoV-2 to Oncogenesis and Long-Term Disease
Immune, Vascular, and Metabolic Pathways Linking SARS-CoV-2 to Oncogenesis and Long-Term Disease Esra Hassan, PhD, MSc, GMBPsS The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has reshaped our understanding of infectious diseases, not only through acute respiratory illness but also via long-term biological effects. COVID-19 may leave lasting imprints on the immune system, metabolic regulation, and vascular health systems closely linked to cancer biology. Unlike classic oncogenic viruses such as HPV or hepatitis B and C, SARS-CoV-2 is not conventionally classified as cancer-causing. However, it can induce immune dysregulation, chronic inflammation, and organ-specific injury, all biologically plausible contributors to cancer initiation or progression over years or decades (Jaiswal et al., 2024; Ochilov et al., 2025). This piece aims to simply explore some of the emerging evidence on the potential long-term oncogenic effects of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Multi-System Perturbation SARS-CoV-2 trigger...