An integral part of childhood immunity, the thymus gland is often thought to be dysfunctional in adults and is often described as the “forgotten organ”. However, recent research suggests that this may not be the case, and that this organ may actually be crucial to our health and cancer prevention as we age.
The thymus, once seen as a kind of “graveyard” for dying cells and considered “an evolutionary accident of little significance” by Nobel Prize winner Sir Peter Medawar, actually plays a vital role in developing the immune system, before birth and during childhood. produces cells.
Despite its importance in our developmental years, until now the thymus was believed to be nonfunctional in adults and can sometimes even be removed during heart surgery to gain access to the heart and major blood vessels through a process called thymectomy. However, this often forgotten organ, located between the lungs and behind the sternum, may not be as useless as we think.
Compared with adults who have not had a thymectomy, those who have the surgery have an almost three times higher risk of death within five years and also a higher risk of developing cancer, according to new research.
Senior author of the study, Dr. “By studying people who have had their thymus removed, we discovered that the thymus is absolutely essential for health,” David T. Scadden said in a statement.
While the study is observational, meaning it does not prove a causal link between the thymus and adverse patient outcomes, it has some clinically relevant implications. “[Our findings suggest] that the consequences of thymus removal should be carefully considered when considering thymectomy,” Scadden wrote.
To arrive at these results, Scadden and co-authors evaluated the risk of death, cancer, and autoimmune disease among 1,146 patients who had thymectomy and an equal number of adults who had cardiothoracic surgery without thymectomy. The team found that 8.1 percent of patients who had a thymectomy died within five years of surgery, while only 2.8 percent of those who did not have the surgery died.
During the same time period, 7.4 percent of thymectomy patients and 3.7 percent of control patients developed cancer. Cancers in patients who underwent thymectomy were generally more frequent, diverse, and aggressive, with a higher incidence of recurrence and increased mortality.
In a subset of patients, those who had undergone thymectomy had consistently lower new T cell production and higher levels of proinflammatory molecules in the blood.
Taken together, these findings support the role of the thymus in contributing to new T-cell production and maintenance of adult human health in adulthood, the authors conclude: strongly argues that it continues to be important as a
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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