Fever, Sweats, and Hot Flashes (PDQ®)
Cancer Information Summaries « English « Patients « F
Introduction
This patient summary on fever, sweats, and hot flashes is adapted from a summary written for health professionals by cancer experts. This and other credible information about cancer treatment, screening, prevention, supportive care, and ongoing clinical trials, is available from the National Cancer Institute. Fever is a rise in body temperature above the normal temperature. In a person who has cancer, fever may be caused by infection, a tumor, drug reactions, or blood transfusion reactions. Sweating is the body’s way of decreasing body temperature by causing heat loss through the skin and, in a person who has cancer, may be associated with fever, a tumor, or cancer treatment. Hot flashes can also cause excessive sweating and may occur in natural menopause or in patients who have been treated for breast cancer or prostate cancer. This brief summary describes the causes and treatment for fever, sweats, and hot flashes.
This record was last updated on February 17th, 2009.
About the PDQ Cancer Information Summaries from the National Cancer Institute
PDQ (Physician Data Query) is a comprehensive cancer database published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It contains peer-reviewed summaries on cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics, and supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine; a registry of cancer clinical trials; and directories of physicians, professionals who provide genetics services, and organizations that provide cancer care.
The PDQ Cancer Information Summaries are peer reviewed and updated monthly by six editorial boards comprised of specialists in adult treatment, pediatric treatment, supportive care, screening and prevention, genetics, and complementary and alternative medicine. The Boards review current literature from more than 70 biomedical journals, evaluate its relevance, and synthesize it into clear summaries. Many of the summaries are also available in Spanish.
Linked medical terms appearing on this page are added by Healia to help readers find more information and are not part of the original PDQ document.