• Sinopharm vaccination impact on breast cancer tumors progression
  • Negar Deldadeh,1 Flora Forouzesh,2 Mohammad Amin Javidi,3,*
    1. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Advanced Science, and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
    2. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Advanced Science, and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
    3. Department of Integrative Oncology, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: In December 2019, a novel coronavirus namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection started in China; within a short time, this infection spread all over the world and over 500 million people across 219 countries were infected. Vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection are considered the most promising approach to controlling the epidemic. People with cancer or a history of cancer have a higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than the ordinary people; hence, the former population should be considered a high-priority group for vaccination. On the other hand, no appropriate study has performed to evaluate the effect of the Covid-19 vaccination on cancer. This study is one of the first in vivo studies that try to show the impact of the Sinopharm vaccine on breast cancer (the most common cancer among women worldwide).
  • Methods: Mice 4T1 mammary carcinoma triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) model by injecting cells subcutaneously. After the tumor reached appropriate size, vaccination performed with 1 or 2 doses of Sinopharm (S1/S2) in relation to dose to the human. The tumor size of mice was monitored every two days. After 30 days, the mice were euthanized with the aid of CO2; their tumors and vital organs (heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen) were carefully dissected, and the existence of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor site and metastasis to the vital organs assessed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E).
  • Results: The final tumor size in the control groups (C1 and C2) were 1325.89± 167.36 mm3 and 1231.54 ± 201.77 mm3 respectively; and in the groups that received Sinopharm vaccine (S1 and S2) were 899.21±50.47 mm3 and 524.19±80.79 mm3 respectively (difference between S1 and C1, and C2 and S2 were statically significant (p value< 0.05)). Amongst all groups, S2 showed the most hindrance in the rate of tumor growth, and the highest TILs’ count. The group that received one dose of Sinopharm was at the next level and the control groups had the lowest TILs’ count. H&E staining results on vital organs showed that the C1 had lesions of metastasis in liver and lung, and the C2 group showed these lesions in the liver but no metastatic lesions were seen in the vital organs of the mice received Sinopharm.
  • Conclusion: According to the obtained data, Sinopharm vaccination against corona shows anti-tumor activity that can obstruct tumor growth and metastasis into vital organs. This effect, can be explained partially by the increasing in the existence of immune cells (TILs) in the tumor site. The mentioned effect is better where two doses of the vaccine are received than one dose.
  • Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, Sinopharm, TNBC, tumor size