Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by In Situ Hybridization in Lung-Cancer Cells Metastatic to Brain and in Adjacent Brain Parenchyma

The mechanisms by which severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may spread to the human brain are poorly understood, and the infection of cancer cells in the brain by SARS-CoV-2 in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has been the subject of only one previous case report...

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Published inPathogens (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 6; p. 772
Main Authors Valyi-Nagy, Tibor, Fredericks, Brian, Wilson, Jessica, Shukla, Sajal Deea, Setty, Suman, Slavin, Konstantin V, Valyi-Nagy, Klara
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 29.05.2023
MDPI
Subjects
Biopsy
Blood-brain barrier
brain
Brain cancer
Cancer
Case Report
Case reports
Case studies
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
clinical case/report
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cytokeratin
Diagnosis
Disease transmission
Edema
Hybridization
In situ hybridization
Infections
Lung cancer
Lungs
Lymphatic system
Magnetic resonance imaging
Medical imaging
Metastases
Metastasis
metastatic carcinoma
Neurosurgery
Parenchyma
Patients
Proteins
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Tumors
Viral diseases
Viral infections
Viruses
United States
United States > US
metastatic carcinoma
clinical case/report
SARS-CoV-2
cancer
brain
in situ hybridization
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Summary:The mechanisms by which severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may spread to the human brain are poorly understood, and the infection of cancer cells in the brain by SARS-CoV-2 in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has been the subject of only one previous case report. Here, we report the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by in situ hybridization in lung-cancer cells metastatic to the brain and adjacent brain parenchyma in a 63-year-old male patient with COVID-19. These findings suggest that metastatic tumors may transport the virus from other parts of the body to the brain or may break down the blood-brain barrier to allow for the virus to spread to the brain. These findings confirm and extend previous observations that cancer cells in the brain can become infected by SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19 and raise the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 can have a direct effect on cancer growth and outcome.
ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens12060772