Can Fever Help You Fight Cancer? Scientists Explore The Surprising Link
Scientists have uncovered a connection between recurrent exposure to fever and reduced incidences to cancer.
Fever as a symptom is often very misunderstood. Parents panic when their little ones run a high temperature. Even adults try to quell their fever by consuming antipyretics and staying off work. A high fever can be dangerous, but it is not always the monster it is made out to be. A fever is a sign of a well-functioning immune system, which is capable of fending off infections. Apart from the other benefits of fever, scientists have found out the fever can help you fight cancer. The surprising link between fever and cancer was uncovered in a recent study published in The Quarterly Review of Biology.
The new study said that repeated exposure to fever helps the body’s ability to fend off cancer. The evidence is mostly anecdotal since the scientists have pored over many accounts of “recurrent patterns” in patients, which showed that there was an inverse relationship between a personal history of infectious fever and cancer risk. 10 facts about cancer you need to know about
How Fever Works Against Cancer
The study says that Gamma/delta T cells (gd T cells), the tumour-killing cells of the human body, helps detect cellular abnormalities and creates an inhospitable environment for the cancer cells in the human body. In other words, recurrent incidences of cancer can train your body to detect and kill cancer cells better. A list of 10 anti-cancer vegetables you should never forget to eat
The authors of the study say that infectious fever is the defensive and adaptive reaction in the organism's body, which is triggered when the organism’s immune system comes in contact with pathogens that cause fever. Once the body recognises these fever-causing “pyrogens”, it starts a fever in the body by activating the febrile system. The thermoregulatory mechanisms in the body are activated, by elevating the organism’s core temperature.
The author writes: "In short, endogenous mediators of fever redirect metabolic substrates and energy to the immune system during fever. This markedly enhances the frequency of a vast range of immune effectors, including lymphocytes expressing gd heterodimer receptors, which possess a potent anti-infectious and antitumor competence.”
The gd T cells are trained to enact processes which help decrease cancer risk by detecting and destroying cancer cells. When the organism experiences fever quite often, the number of gd T cells in the body goes up. The cancer-fighting Vg9Vd2 T cells, which are capable of responding to various types of cancers such as lymphoma, prostate, myeloma and sarcoma, increases significantly after exposure to infection.
The scientists are of the opinion that current immunotherapy practices for fighting cancer focus more on alpha/beta (ab) T cells. With the discovery, the connection between fever and gd T cells should be explored.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 12:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).