Night sweats are excessive sweating during sleep and can be a symptom of medical conditions such as cancer, infections, and hyperthyroidism. Certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma and breast cancer, commonly produce night sweats in cancer patients. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments can also increase the incidence of infection and neutropenia, leading to night sweats. Treatment involves stopping the agent responsible and using colony-stimulating factors as a preventative measure. Bone marrow transplants are not typically used.
A true night sweat is one during which someone sweats profusely while sleeping, becoming drenched in both their bedding and clothing. Although it is a symptom of several medical conditions such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), infections and hyperthyroidism, it is commonly associated with certain types of cancer. The link between night sweats and cancer is related to vasomotor problems and the treatment received, particularly with chemotherapeutic agents.
Maintaining body temperature at a relative constant of approximately 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius) is the primary goal of thermoregulation. Attributed to the functioning of the vasomotor center, sweating is a necessary thermoregulatory response of the human body, a homeostatic mechanism necessary for temperature control, and one of four different ways in which heat loss occurs. Other pathways include convection, radiation and conduction. With evaporation, the decrease in temperature is made possible by sweating, turning the water into a gas. A disturbance of the vasomotor heat control system in individuals with night sweats and cancer is typically due to a fever caused by an infection, certain drugs, a malignancy, or a blood transfusion.
Specific types of malignancies commonly produce night sweats in cancer patients, such as those with lymphoma and breast cancers. Experts report that, of all people with fevers of unknown etiology, 20 to 30% of them are diagnosed with malignancies. Manifested by chills, fever and night sweats, Hodgkin’s lymphoma derives from B lymphocytes, white blood cells very important for the immune response particularly interested in the action of antibodies. Leukemia sufferers and breast cancer survivors also experience frequent night sweats.
Another significant connection between night sweats and cancer involves healing treatments. Many cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy, the administration of chemotherapy drugs to kill cancer cells, which can be taken as an injection, pill or intravenously. These drugs and radiation treatments increase the incidence of infection due to neutropenia, a potentially fatal condition in which white blood cells called neutrophils are at dangerously low levels. Neutrophils are particularly essential in the fight against infectious diseases and, of all white blood cells, are the most abundant in the bloodstream. Characterized by fever, night sweats, and fatigue, neutropenia is responsible for the admission of large numbers of cancer patients to US hospitals, providing further evidence of the relationship between night sweats and cancer.
Treatment for night sweats that occurs as a result of cancer treatment itself involves stopping the agent responsible for the condition as soon as possible. Believed to strengthen the immune system by increasing leukocyte counts, colony-stimulating factors are indicated as a preventative measure for people at risk, as well as for patients experiencing severe symptoms of neutropenia. Bone marrow transplants are not usually used for treatment.
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