Do severe viral infections increase lung cancer risk?
嚴重的病毒感染會增加罹患肺癌的風險嗎？
New research suggests that severe respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza requiring hospitalization, may increase the long-term risk of lung cancer.
新研究指出，嚴重的呼吸道感染，如需住院的COVID-19或流感，可能會增加長期罹患肺癌的風險。
This phenomenon is linked to "post-viral inflammatory memory," where the body's immune response causes lasting changes in lung tissue.
這種現象與「病毒後發炎記憶」有關，即身體的免疫反應對肺部組織造成持久性變化。
Specifically, it triggers the accumulation of pro-tumor immune cells and alters lung epithelial cells, leaving them in a vulnerable state for months or years.
具體而言，它會誘發促腫瘤免疫細胞的積聚，並改變肺部上皮細胞，使其在數月或數年內處於脆弱狀態。
Studies have even noted a potential 24% increase in lung cancer diagnoses among those previously hospitalized for severe COVID-19, regardless of smoking history.
研究甚至指出，曾因重症COVID-19住院的患者，其肺癌診斷率可能增加了24%，這與抽菸史無關。
Vaccination plays a critical role by training the immune system to fight viruses effectively, thereby preventing the severe illness that leads to this harmful "immune scarring."
疫苗接種發揮了關鍵作用，透過訓練免疫系統以效率地對抗病毒，從而預防導致這種危險「免疫疤痕」的嚴重疾病。
For those who have recovered from severe pneumonia, doctors recommend closer monitoring and potentially earlier cancer screenings.
對於已從重症肺炎中康復的患者，醫生建議進行更密切的監測，並可能提早進行癌症篩檢。
