Why is there fever in cancer?!

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From http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/s…
"The major causes of fever in cancer patients include infection, tumor (also known as paraneoplastic fever), drugs (allergic or hypersensitivity reactions), blood product transfusion, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Infection is a particularly important cause in the neutropenic host, given its high frequency (almost two-thirds of patients) and potentially fatal outcome. Whereas gram-negative infections predominated as the cause of neutropenic fever in cancer patients in the 1970s and early 1980s, gram-positive infections, mainly streptococci and coagulase staphylococci, have predominated since. The increased incidence of staphylococcal and streptococcal infections relates to the use of intravascular devices, severe mucositis due to high-dose chemotherapy, and prophylactic antibiotic therapy with fluoroquinolones. Although fluoroquinolone use has not decreased the morbidity or mortality of neutropenic fever, it has resulted in increased incidence of resistant gram-negative bacteremia."

"Many consider paraneoplastic fever to be more common in primary tumors such as renal cell carcinomas and lymphomas, but available data suggest that it occurs in tumors of diverse primary sites. Hypersensitivity reactions, pyrogen production, primary cytokine production and tumor necrosis with secondary cytokine production are among the postulated causes of tumor fever. Drug causes of fever include a variety of cytotoxic chemotherapy agents, biologic response modifiers, vancomycin, amphotericin, and multiple other medications."

MD hematologist and medical oncologist - cancer and leukemia specialist physician for 20 years

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