Researchers explore infectious fever- cancer link

Washington: Turns out, recurring patterns in patients suggest the existence of an inverse relationship between the personal history of infectious fever and cancer risk, a new study reveals. These patterns are documented throughout decades of medical literature. However, the evidence supporting this correlation continue to be primarily anecdotal. The researchers propose a mechanistic hypothesis that focuses on the potential impact infectious fever has on a particular subset of T cells, known as gamma/ delta ( gd) T cells. According to previous experiments, the authors argue that repeated exposure to fever enhances the ability of gamma delta T cells to detect cellular abnormalities and to foster inhospitable environments that destroy malignant cells. This study is the first to acknowledge the role that gd T cells may play participants in this inverse relationship. Infectious fever is the defensive and adaptive reaction that occurs when an organism's immune system comes into contact with exogenous pyrogens, or pathogen- associated molecular pattern ( PAMP). Upon recognition of these exogenous pyrogens, endogenous mediators, also known as endogenous pyrogens, engage the febrile system. According to previous work by Shephard et al., a febrile system is composed of all of the mechanisms responsible for facilitating a fever. Thermoregulatory mechanisms are activated, resulting in the elevation of an organism's core body temperature. The authors elaborate on the function of endogenous mediators, like cytokines. “Eendogenous mediators of fever redirect metabolic substrates to the immune system during fever. This ups the frequency of immune effectors.” — ANI