A recent study has made a shocking revelation about an organ that doctors frequently remove considering it to be useless.
As per the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, there’s a small gland located behind your sternum that is commonly regarded as “useless” in adulthood.
This organ is effective in fighting cancer and people who have it removed have a double risk of death and cancer.
Researchers in Boston analyzed the data of over 6,000 patients who kept their thymus during cardiothoracic surgery and 1,146 patients who had it removed.
US researchers revealed that people who undergo thymus removal have a high risk of death from any cause within five years after the surgery.
Not only this, they also have a higher risk of developing cancer at that time.
Harvard University oncologist David Scadden said in a statement, "We discovered that the thymus is absolutely required for health. If it isn't there, people's risk of dying and risk of cancer is at least double.”
In childhood, the thymus plays an important role in developing the immune system.
It is pertinent to note that this study is purely observational, meaning it can’t confirm that removing the thymus directly causes cancer or other fatal diseases.
However, researchers are now concerned about the findings that preserving the thymus should be a priority to keep the thymus intact during medical procedures, where feasible, until more is known.
