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Ever hear of the thymus? Most people haven’t. But Mass General Brigham scientists now report in the journal Nature that this tiny immune-system organ may be one of the strongest hidden predictors of longevity, disease risk, and even cancer treatment success.

The radiology researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze CT scans from more than 25,000 adults to create a “thymic health score” based on the organ’s size, structure, and composition. People with healthier thymuses had about a 50% lower risk of death from any cause, a 63% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 36% lower risk of developing lung cancer. The data shows that smoking, chronic inflammation, and higher body weights were associated with poorer thymus health.

Looking at a subgroup of more than 1,200 cancer patients receiving immunotherapy, those with healthier thymuses had a 37% lower risk of cancer progression and a 44% lower risk of death compared with patients who had poorer thymic health.

Your immune system plays a much larger role in healthy aging than many people realize. Understanding how the thymus changes over time could eventually help doctors identify disease risks earlier and develop new strategies to support immune health as we age.

The references for this report are available on my website.

#Longevity #ImmuneSystem #HealthyAging #CancerResearch #MedicalResearch