Genomics Mixer: Post-viral Lung Damage & Metastatic Breast Cancer

At the upcoming Genomics Rooftop Mixer on October 28, one of the marquee projects will explore a compelling question at the intersection of cancer biology and virology: Why does metastatic breast cancer remain so deadly?

Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women over their lifetimes. Though screening and therapies have improved outcomes, this year alone nearly 42,000 women in the U.S. will die from the disease. Over 80% of those deaths result from metastasis—the spread of cancer cells to distant organs—because we lack reliable ways to prevent or treat it.

Dr.Shaheen Sikandar

Leading this investigation is Dr. Shaheen Sikandar, whose team is zeroing in on one of the most common metastatic destinations: the lungs. Their approach builds on intriguing prior observations about viral lung injury from their collaborator Dr. David Boyd. The Boyd lab has shown that when severe influenza or other respiratory infections damage lung tissue, that damage may not fully heal. Sikandar’s group asks: Does this “post-viral lung environment” make lungs more hospitable to breast cancer metastasis?

This question is even more urgent now, given the global impact of respiratory viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2, which left millions with persistent lung injury. Could these viral footprints increase long-term cancer risks?

According to Sikandar, the team’s early animal studies are illuminating:

Dr. David Boyd

“Our early findings using mice as a model system show that the number and size of metastasis is much higher in mice that have post-viral lung damage. We are now trying to understand why that happens and what we can do to reverse this phenotype.”

These results suggest that prior lung injury may set the stage for tumor colonization and growth. The next phase of the research is focused on dissecting the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon—and identifying potential interventions to reverse or block the enhanced metastatic growth.

If successful, the work could have broad implications. Therapies tailored to the post-viral lung environment might not only benefit breast cancer patients but also others suffering malignancies that spread to the lungs.

Attendees at the Rooftop Mixer will have the chance to engage with Sikandar, Boyd and their team, learn about their latest data, and discuss how computational genomics, virology, and cancer biology converge in this innovative project.

By connecting viral injury and metastasis through a genomics lens, Shaheen Sikandar and David Boyd are guiding a bold path toward reducing one of cancer’s greatest threats.