It may come as a surprise that there are parts of the human body that don’t seem to be as important as others. For example, whether you remove the appendix or the tonsils has little or no negative effect. One organ seems to have been underestimated so far – it could even be Cancer protect, as a new study now shows.
Study: Thymus Gland May Also Protect Against Cancer
The thymus gland, located behind the breastbone, plays an important role in the immune system, especially in childhood. Precursors of the T defense cells that are still immature and produced in the bone marrow mature here and differentiate – in the process they learn the difference between the body’s own and foreign cells.
However, the notion that the gland loses its relevance by puberty at the latest, also because it largely turns into fatty tissue, has persisted in medicine. It is often removed during heart operations because it would otherwise make access difficult. But with his new one Investigation a research team comes to the conclusion that the distance has health consequences. The risk of developing cancer as well as general mortality could increase significantly.
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Twice as high risk of disease without a thymus gland
David Scadden of Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of the study says that without the thymus gland, the risk of developing cancer or premature death in general was found to be at least twice as high. The likelihood of developing an autoimmune disease also increased by a factor of 1.5.
For the study, the respective health risks were looked at over a longer period of time in 1,146 people with and without glands, all of whom had similar characteristics, clinical pictures and surgeries. After five years, 8.1 percent of all people without a thymus gland had already died – the mortality rate for the others was only 2.8 percent. During the same period, 7.4 percent of people without a gland developed cancer, while only 3.7 percent of the control group developed it. A comparative analysis with the general US population supported these results.
Also fewer “killer cells” detected
In addition, T-cell production in the human body was looked at in more detail. It was noticed that after the removal, people produced almost three times lower amounts of important T-cell subtypes. This also includes so-called “killer cells” that fight infections and tumors by destroying infected or degenerated cells – which is ultimately also important against cancer.
Against the background of the new results, the scientists advocate examining the importance of the thymus gland in adults even more intensively. You should also think carefully about whether it really needs to be removed during the next operation.
Source: “Health Consequences of Thymus Removal in Adults” (The New England Journal of Medicine 2023)
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