Mendelian randomization provides causal association between COVID-19 and thyroid cancer: insights from a multi-cancer analysis

Front Oncol. 2024 Sep 10:14:1419020. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1419020. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused over 600 million confirmed infections and more than 6.8 million deaths worldwide, with ongoing implications for human health. COVID-19 has been extensively documented to have extrapulmonary manifestations due to the widespread expression of necessary ACE2 receptors in the human body. Nevertheless, the association between COVID-19 and cancer risk remains inadequately explored. This study employs Mendelian randomization (MR) methods to examine the causal relationship between genetic variations associated with COVID-19 and the risk of developing cancer. The findings indicate that COVID-19 has negligible impact on most cancer risks. Interestingly, a higher COVID-19 impact is associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer. In summary, our findings demonstrate a genetic correlation between COVID-19 and thyroid cancer, contributing to our understanding of the interplay between COVID-19 and cancer risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; Mendelian randomization; SARS-CoV-2; cancer risk; thyroid.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.