A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine compared people who had their thymus removed with those who retained it and found that those without a thymus had nearly three times the all-cause mortality rate and twice the risk of cancer. The thymus plays a critical role in maintaining immune health and preventing cancer in adults.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2302892
Kameron A. Kooshesh, M.D., Brody H. Foy, D.Phil., David B. Sykes, M.D., Ph.D., Karin Gustafsson, Ph.D., and David T. Scadden, M.D.
August 3, 2023
N Engl J Med 2023; 389:406-417
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2302892
