Hong Jin Kim, Min-Ho Kim, Myeong Geun Choi & Eun Mi Chun
September 26, 2025
Biomarker Research

"Abstract

The oncogenic potential of SARS-CoV-2 has been hypothetically proposed, but real-world data on COVID-19 infection and vaccination are insufficient. Therefore, this large-scale population-based retrospective study in Seoul, South Korea, aimed to estimate the cumulative incidences and subsequent risks of overall cancers 1 year after COVID-19 vaccination. Data from 8,407,849 individuals between 2021 and 2023 were obtained from the Korean National Health Insurance database. The participants were categorized into two groups based on their COVID-19 vaccination status...

To the editor

Given the shared structures, such as the spike protein in COVID-19 vaccines, we further hypothesized that COVID-19 vaccines might potentially be associated with cancer risks; however, real-world data are insufficient...

Given the limited availability of real-world data, our population-based cohort study in Seoul, South Korea suggested epidemiological associations between the cumulative incidence of cancers and COVID-19 vaccination, which varied by sex, age, and vaccine type. However, further studies are warranted to elucidate potential causal relationships, including the underlying molecular mechanisms related to COVID-19 vaccine–induced hyperinflammation.

Fig. 1

Fig. 1 Risks of cancers associated with COVID-19 vaccines. (A) Hazard ratio of overall and 29 different types of cancers; (B) Cumulative incidences of overall cancers; (C) Hazard ratio of overall cancers according to the vaccine types; (D) Cumulative incidences of overall cancers stratified by sex; (E) Cumulative incidences of overall cancers stratified by age..."

document
cancer,COVID-19,mRNA,vaccines