Study Shows Increased Cancer Deaths After Third Dose of mRNA COVID Shots in Japan

A 2024 study published in The Cureus Journal of Medical Science evaluated how age-adjusted mortality rates (AMRs) for different types of cancer changed during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022) in Japan.¹ Age adjusted rates is a statistical process to make fair comparisons between groups of different ages, especially with diseases such as cancer that tend to occur in elderly adults.^{2 3}

According to the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan, the COVID mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) shot was available under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and was recommended for all individuals’ ages six months and older since February 2021. As of March 2023, 80 percent of the Japanese population had received their first and second doses, 68 percent had received their third dose, and 45 percent had received their fourth dose.⁴

The study authors concluded:

Statistically significant increases in age-adjusted mortality rates of all cancer and some specific types of cancer, namely, ovarian cancer, leukemia, prostate, lip/oral/pharyngeal, pancreatic, and breast cancers, were observed in 2022 after two-thirds of the Japanese population had received the third or later dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP vaccine. These particularly marked increases in mortality rates of these ERα-sensitive cancers may be attributable to several mechanisms of the mRNA-LNP vaccination rather than COVID-19 infection itself or reduced cancer care due to the lockdown. The significance of this possibility warrants further studies.”⁵

Cancer Deaths During First Year of the COVID Pandemic Did Not Increase

Findings from the study showed that deaths from all cancers did not increase in 2020 with the exception of a 3.9 percent excess in all cancer deaths among the 75-79 age group, 0.9 percent excess in pancreatic cancer deaths, and a 3.8 percent reduction in breast cancer deaths. The study explains that the limited cancer care during the first year of the pandemic could explain the excess cancer mortality among the 75-79 age group and the slight increase in pancreatic cancer deaths observed in 2020, but there is no explanation why deaths from cancer declined.⁶

Cancer Deaths in 2021 and 2022 Increased

Mass vaccination for COVID for the general population in Japan began in April 2021. Excess deaths for all cancers was observed in 2021 and increased even more in 2022. Significant excess monthly deaths were identified after August 2021.

More than 90 percent of Japanese people over 70 years of age have received a third COVID shot.

There were excess cancer deaths across all age groups, but these trends were only statistically significant (i.e. real, reliable and not due to chance) for age groups with the highest cancer mortality, which included the 75-79 age group in 2021 and the 75-84 age group in 2022. More than 90 percent of Japanese people over 70 years of age have received a third COVID shot.⁷

According to the study, six of the twenty types of cancer (ovarian, leukemia, prostate, lip/oral/pharyngeal, pancreatic, and breast cancer) had statistically significant excess mortalities in 2021, which increased even more in 2022. Health official speculate that limited cancer screening and access to healthcare due to lockdowns may have increased the deaths for any type of cancer. However, thet say that significant increases in deaths for the six specific cancer types were unlikely to be explained by the lack of access to health care services.⁸

Plausible Reasons for Increased Cancer Deaths Following mRNA COVID Shots

Some scientists have reported that the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP shot may increase the risk of the development and progression of cancer^{9 10} and several case reports have observed the developing or worsening of cancer diagnosis after mRNA COVID shots.¹¹

The authors of the study suggest that since cancer often leads to the activation of blood clotting, one of the major causes of death in patients with cancer is cancer-associated thrombosis (blood clots). As a result, it is reasonable to assume that the additional thrombus-forming tendency of mRNA COVID shots could be dangerous for cancer patients, which may explain the excess deaths.¹²

Findings from other studies have shown that type I interferon responses (such as cytokines that are involved with inflammation, immune-regulation, tumor cell recognition, and T-cell responses), which play a central role in cancer immunosurveillance (the power of innate and adaptive immune system to eradicate cancerous growth), are suppressed after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-LNP shots, Some scientists think this may explain excess deaths from cancer.¹³

The study showed that AMRs of ovarian cancer, leukemia, prostate, lip/oral/pharyngeal, pancreatic, and breast cancers increased significantly in 2022, all of which are known as estrogen and estrogen receptor alpha sensitive cancer. The Cureus study authors stated:

A recent study showed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA could be reverse-transcribed to DNA and integrated into the human cell genome in vitro [95]. Another study reported that transfected mRNA in the human cells exposed to BNT162b2 leads to unsilencing of the endogenous retrotransposon long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) and reverse transcription of vaccine mRNA sequences to DNA in the nucleus [96]. Accumulation of vaccine mRNA and reverse-transcribed DNA molecules in the cytoplasm could be expected to induce chronic autoinflammation, autoimmunity, DNA damage, and cancer risk in susceptible individuals [97]. ¹⁴

According to another study by Soliis et al. published in 2022, the development of specific cancers may be caused by several biological mechanisms associated with the mRNA-LNP COVID shots.¹⁵

If you would like to receive an e-mail notice of the most recent articles published in The Vaccine Reaction each week, click here.