Our research on autoimmune responses post COVID-19 vaccination indicates that a small percentage of vaccinated people could have chronic macrophage activation manifesting as a persistent low-level antibody response.
In these people, the persistent activation of macrophages can have an impact of the immune response against cancer. One of the main strategies to manage tumour spread is through the immune work of macrophages.
These immune cells help to identify metastatic cancer cells and cause them to die. Chronic activation of the macrophages could impact on this essential function leading to an increased risk of metastatic disease.
Although these risks may be small, across a population, the effect can still be significant.