"Given this evidence, however, published in highly regarded scientific journals, if we are to consider if COVID-19 is contributing to cancers, should we not also consider if COVID-19 vaccines are contributing to cancers?"
BUFFALO, NY – September 17, 2026 – A new commentary was published in Volume 17 of Oncotarget on September 11, 2026, titled " Are both COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines associated with cancer? ."
The paper was authored by Raphael Lataster, an independent researcher at the University of Sydney , and responds to a recent Oncotarget review by Charlotte Kuperwasser and Wafik S. El-Deiry examining published reports concerning cancer following COVID-19 vaccination or infection.
Lataster highlights research concerning potential associations between COVID-19 and cancer and discusses mechanisms proposed in the literature. He argues that similar mechanisms reported in connection with COVID-19 vaccination warrant consideration and further study.
The commentary also highlights differences in how evidence concerning COVID-19 vaccines and cancer has been evaluated in the scientific literature. He calls for the same evidentiary standards to be applied when considering potential links between COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and cancer.
"Such inquiries should proceed without preconceptions, applying the same evidentiary standards regardless of whether findings implicate infection, vaccination, or both."
The commentary does not establish a causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and cancer. Rather, it calls for potential associations and biological mechanisms to be investigated without predetermined conclusions and with appropriate consideration of alternative explanations and the limitations of observational evidence.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28918
