Surge in brain tumours among nurses at Boston hospital triggers urgent inquiry
Experts call for a full-scale inquiry—including potential Covid-19 vaccine-related risks.
A troubling rise in brain tumours among nurses at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Boston has sparked urgent calls for a full-scale investigation into potential causes.
CBS News first reported that at least ten nurses had been diagnosed with brain tumours—some malignant, others benign—with three requiring surgery. However, the hospital disputed these figures, stating that only five confirmed cases had been identified.
Yet accounts from hospital staff suggest the numbers may be higher. A nurse who worked at Newton-Wellesley for nearly a decade and was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour revealed that at least 17 individuals had come forward and were undergoing assessment.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) has since supported this higher estimate, noting that more nurses have raised concerns since the story emerged.
“We are speaking with many, many more nurses and gathering their medical records,” an MNA representative stated, reinforcing the growing concerns.
While it remains uncertain whether these cases meet the statistical threshold for a formal ‘cancer cluster,’ the rising reports have intensified demands for a deeper inquiry.
Boston hospital investigation finds no cause
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham network, launched an investigation in December 2024 in collaboration with the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, external environmental consultants, and radiation and pharmaceutical safety offices.
“The investigation found no environmental risks linked to the development of brain tumours,” the hospital announced. “We can confidently reassure our dedicated team members and all our patients that there is no environmental risk at our facility.”
The MNA, however, found the hospital’s efforts lacking. Describing the investigation as “completely inadequate,” the union has launched its own inquiry to explore the issue further.
“We’re seeing reports of different types of brain tumours,” the MNA representative explained. “There may be environmental hazards, past or present, such as asbestos exposure or radiation… It’s too early to rule anything out.”
Could it be the Covid-19 vaccines?
Beyond environmental concerns, speculation has emerged regarding a potential link to Covid-19 vaccination. Newton-Wellesley Hospital enforced a vaccine mandate, prompting questions about whether the Covid-19 vaccines could be linked to the tumour cases.
The MNA, representing 25,000 nurses across 85 Massachusetts healthcare facilities, has dismissed any link to vaccination, noting that other hospitals with similar mandates have not reported comparable cases.
“This is the only facility where we’re experiencing anything like this,” the MNA representative stated, favouring environmental factors as a more plausible explanation.
However, Professor Wafik El-Deiry, a leading cancer researcher at Brown University, insists that all possibilities must be examined.
“They need to gather full medical histories, vaccine records, and detailed pathology reports of the tumours,” he explained.
“It’s critical to analyse blood and tissue samples for the presence of spike protein and other potential markers to determine if these cancers share molecular signatures.”
Given the relatively short timeframe in which these tumours have emerged and concentrated at the same location, some have speculated that nurses at Newton-Wellesley may have received a ‘bad batch’ of mRNA vaccines.
Batch variability has been linked to differences in adverse events. A Danish study published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation found that serious side effects were strongly associated with specific batches of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.
El-Deiry has advocated for “full next-generation sequencing (NGS) on tumour biopsies” to identify “potentially causative DNA fingerprints and unique RNA expression patterns.”
Recent studies have detected plasmid DNA contamination in mRNA vaccines, raising additional questions. Several independent laboratories have now reported the presence of an SV40 promoter in Pfizer’s product.
The SV40 promoter is linked to cancer formation in animal studies and is able to facilitate the nuclear import of plasmid DNA contamination, potentially integrating into the host genome and disrupting oncogenes.
The Role of the Virus Itself?
Determining the root cause of these tumours is a complex task. El-Deiry notes that the virus itself, not just the vaccine, must be considered in any investigation.
His own research has demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can interfere with the p53 tumour suppression pathway—a crucial defence against cancer.
Finding spike protein in tumours (either from virus or vaccine) has led to speculation about an increase in ‘turbo cancers,’ where aggressive malignancies arise in shorter-than-expected timeframes.
“Detecting spike protein in a tumour alone is not definitive,” El-Deiry cautioned. “There’s a need to check for the presence of the nucleocapsid protein. If it’s absent, that would suggest the spike protein originates from the vaccine rather than a prior Covid infection.”
To establish clear patterns, he emphasises the need for rigorous controls, comparing tumour samples from Covid-infected patients with those from vaccinated individuals.
A Call for Action
Whether this emerging trend represents a genuine public health crisis or an unfortunate coincidence, all plausible explanations—environmental, viral, or vaccine-related—must be rigorously investigated.
For now, the affected nurses continue to seek answers. The hospital’s assurances have failed to ease concerns, with many staff feeling unsupported as uncertainty mounts.
El-Deiry, a leading contender for the position of Director at the National Cancer Institute, has called for an urgent, transparent, and unbiased inquiry into the situation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
“If we fail to fully investigate this phenomenon, we may miss a critical opportunity to uncover new insights into cancer causation—and potentially prevent further cases from emerging.”
He says that local hospitals and state agencies may have limited expertise to conduct such a thorough investigation, suggesting that independent oversight is required.
“The state or federal government health departments would need to step in,” El-Deiry noted, suggesting it “may take someone like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to demand a full-scale inquiry.”
You are probably right but it shouldn’t be. There were too many real MDs who pushed back on the vaccines early on and they were mandated anyway. Our healthcare system is a disaster! I gave my working years helping sick people get well if possible! 45 years! Worked almost to 67! And now the younger generation has brain tumors. We rarely if ever had these kind of events among the nursing profession! Closer to 80 than 70!
Hmmm..... this will probably turn out to be as bigger mystery as who killed JFK !