CHICAGO (WLS) — New research from Northwestern Medicine shows that in some cases of severe COVID, the immune response actually killed cancer cells.

Researchers are trying to harness this immune power in new cancer treatments.

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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of people were hospitalized with doctors and nurses working to the bone, medical professionals observed something strange, particularly in a handful of cancer patients.

“When these patients got severe COVID, the cancers decreased,” said Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery at Northwestern Medicine. “So it was a very bizarre sighting and we were wondering if it was just a coincidence or if it was real?”

Dr Bharat says new research in human tissue and animal models shows what could be a glimmer of hope in dark times that could benefit cancer patients.

“In our preclinical studies, it tends to be broadly effective in some of the most common cancers that affect us, including lung, breast, colon melanoma,” Dr. Bharat said.

Researchers were able to create the same cells found in some severe COVID patients, not to protect cancers, but rather to provide reinforcements to attack them.

“When they said we were out of options, a year later to the day he got a call for a transplant,” Lori Friesen said.

Friesen and Keith Zafren had a cancer journey together. Zafren was one of the first lung cancer patients to receive a double lung transplant at Northwestern Medicine in a first-of-its-kind clinical program. If his cancer were to return, traditional immunotherapies would not be an option due to the risk of organ rejection.

“I would be happy to participate in this new study if the cancer returns,” Zafren said.

COVID-based research is different from immunotherapy.

“This mechanism of these monocytes can selectively kill cancer cells without affecting the newly transplanted lungs,” said Dr. Bharat.

SEE ALSO | Woman recovering from stage 4 cancer after double lung transplant at Northwestern Medicine

“Wait, because you never know what this incredible, innovative team of doctors will come up with next,” Friesen said.

Researchers hope to take the study to human clinical trials next year.

More information about the Northwestern Medicine research study can be found found here.