The BJC is a research journal -  they must be looking for more research funds to
dig this oldie up.
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).[2-8] - Source
NCI

Look up "paraneoplastic fever" in Google.
If cancer patients followed this theory, their cancer would progress and they
would die.

Fevers can also be part of the dying process. If this theory "washed", nobody
(with cancer) would ever die.

This is from the report that you are mentioning:
"For the subsequent period 1987-2003, a PubMed query on case reports of
spontaneous regressions/remissions/resolutions delivers 136 hits (Query, 2004)
(mean 10 reports per year). Since some of the case reports covered more than one
patient, we can state a small but ongoing rate of about 1-2 dozen reported cases
per year over the past 40 years, with perhaps decreasing tendency."

So you want patients who are cured (50% by surgery, 40% by radiation therapy and
10% by chemo), to quit their therapies and get fevers?  In exchange for 24
reported spontaneous remissions per year? And we don't even know which cancers
they're referring to. Some (Steph would have to remind) are known to sometimes
have spontaneous remissions..ie kidney cancer, IIRC

You're spewing dangerous information here, IMO
J

Don't bother. It's out there under "altie stuff"
J

...

One of my first jobs was working in the  the transplant unit  in the 1970's.
At the time we were doing research on interferon and preventing rejection.
It is now 2005 and they are still experimenting with this drug. There is a
connection between  cancer and immunology unfortunately, nobody has been
able to make the right connection. Practioners, have seen cancer patients
with tumor fever, Fever of unknown origin (FUO) in patients with cancer is a
diagnosis of exclusion. If the patient is not neutropenic, and there is no
source of infection or fever found despite rigorous evaluation, then the
fever is likely due to the tumor. Cytokines are known to be involved in the
acute phase response, and IL-1 (endogenous pyrogen) is well known to cause
fevers. In addition, other cytokines are most likely involved, such as Tumor
Necrosis Factor (TNF alpha and beta), interferon, and IL-6. TNF appears to
work differently from IL-1, and in fact, may induce its pyrogenic activity
(Arnold et al, 2001). Cancers most likely to cause tumor fever are lymphoma,
solid tumors, which have metastasized to the liver or CNS, and hypernephroma
(Cunha, 1996).
http://www.cancersourcern.com/Nursing/CE/CECourse.cfm?courseid=133&contentid=223
49#_Toc512950680

I suspect the fever produces a cytokine which fights the cancer, I would
like to see the link.  Alex

This is well-known and was the basis of Coley's toxins.

I looked into this treatment once with the following comments.  I suspect
this shows the most that could be expected of "fever therapy". --
Amazingly, a single-blind randomised trial of Coley's toxin that was
performed in 1962. Judging from the references in this paper this is the
only controlled trial that was ever done on Coley's toxins, even though they
had already been in use for a remarkable seventy years. It appears that some
were claiming results which others could not replicate, but that some effect
was being also reported in animal studies of cancer.

This is an extraordinarily well performed trial, even using an "active
placebo" in the form of typhoid vaccine for the control patients, which is
remarkable for a trial performed in 1962. The authors cannot be faulted for
the rigour with which the trial was done. They do not appear to have used a
blinded third party to assess results, which would make the trial
"double-blind", but I am inclined to trust  what they say.

The results? There were nine out of 34 patients who appeared to show
objective benefits. One patient with a recurrent giant cell tumour of the
thyroid had a complete response and was free of cancer four years later.
Eight other patients had partial or brief remissions but two of these were
lost to follow up very shortly afterwards (one died of accident). The rest
died of their cancers or with their cancers..

This confirms what we were taught in medical school about Coley's toxins,
that some cancers do respond to them, but with no regularity or consistency.

If someone is keen to try a modality that is now mainly offered within AM,
this is one that is worthy of trial (but I emphasise only if nothing better
is on offer -PJM).   I would offer a word of great caution. The method used
in this trial was that recommended by those with good experience of the
method.  The dose of toxin was carefully adjusted according to the febrile
(feverish) response to a toxin made from Strept pyogenes and Serratia
marcescens. I would not trust most of the alternative practitioners and
clincs I know anything about to be fastidious about what they used and how
they used it.

It also sounds very arduous for the patients, with injections causing fever
of between 102 and 104 degrees being given five days with a two day rest,
and almost indefinitely in those showing response.

PS (It may also be worth pointing out that some chemotherapeutic agents are
bacterial toxins.)

Peter Moran