How does cancer cause a fever?
It just seems odd to me. I mean, I guess I see how lymphoma or leukemia might cause it, since your immune system is reduced substantially, but how do advanced carcinomas or sarcomas (i.e. colon, esophageal, stomach cancers) cause a fever? I mean, if the sed rate is fine, then there should be no inflammation within the body, which means there's no infection and there SHOULD be no fever. What's up?
So only chemotherapy or radiation causes fever?
- karen B
If someone is getting chemo and the white blood cell count falls, a fever can result. This happened to me when I was being treated for cancer, and I ran fevers a few times. My doc would shoot me up with Neupogen, which makes the white cells accelerate their multiplying, and then the fever would subside and I could continue with my chemotherapy protocol.
- lillianinalaska
I THINK that since your body is trying to fight off the cancer, that could cause to raise your body heat. But I'm not quite sure. Just a thought.
- chickadee34
According to the National Cancer Institute:
"The main causes of fever in cancer patients are infections, tumors, reactions to drugs or blood transfusions, and graft-versus-host-disease. Graft-versus-host-disease occurs when transplanted bone marrow or peripheral stem cells attack the patient's tissue. Infection is a common cause of fever in cancer patients and can cause death. Tumor cells can produce various substances that can cause fever. A wide variety of medications can cause fever including chemotherapy drugs, biological response modifiers, and antibiotics, such as vancomycin and amphotericin.
Other causes of fever in cancer patients include drug withdrawal; neuroleptic malignant syndrome; blockages of the bladder, bowel, or kidney, and blockage of an artery by tumor fragments. Other medical conditions occurring at the same time as the cancer such as blood clots, connective tissue disorders, and central nervous system hemorrhage or stroke, may also cause fever. "
Leukemia — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment of this blood-related cancer.
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