The New England journal of medicine
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The function of the thymus in human adults is unclear, and routine removal of the thymus is performed in a variety of surgical procedures. We hypothesized that the adult thymus is needed to sustain immune competence and overall health. ⋯ In this study, all-cause mortality and the risk of cancer were higher among patients who had undergone thymectomy than among controls. Thymectomy also appeared be associated with an increased risk of autoimmune disease when patients with preoperative infection, cancer, or autoimmune disease were excluded from the analysis. (Funded by the Tracey and Craig A. Huff Harvard Stem Cell Institute Research Support Fund and others.).