Spontaneous remission of a disease occurs when there is a marked reduction in its degree of evolution, which can not be explained by the type of treatment being used. That is, remission does not mean that the disease is completely cured, but, due to the regression of its evolution, presents a greater chance of cure.
In the case of cancer, spontaneous remission usually causes a decrease in tumor size, which facilitates the effect of treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the destruction of tumor cells. In addition, in some cases, spontaneous remission may even allow the tumor to be operated on and removed completely.
One of the most common cases of spontaneous remission occurs in people infected with the HPV virus. See when this is more frequent.
Why it happens
There is still no proven explanation for spontaneous remission, however there are several proposals from science to explain this process. Some of the factors that seem to have the greatest effect are immune system mediation, tumor necrosis, programmed cell death, genetic factors and even hormonal changes.
However, it is also widely accepted that psychological and spiritual factors can play a very important role in remission. Some of the theories that involve these factors include:
- Placebo Effect: According to this theory the positive expectation regarding treatment can cause chemical changes in the brain that help to fight against various types of diseases like cancer, arthritis, allergies and even diabetes. Understand better how this effect works;
- Hypnosis: There are several reported cases associated with hypnosis, especially in the accelerated improvement of burns, warts and asthma;
- Support Groups: Studies show that breast cancer patients attending support groups have a longer than normal life expectancy.
In addition, although there are fewer, there are also recorded cases of miracle cures that occur in people of great faith.
When happens
There are still insufficient data to confirm the frequency of cases of spontaneous remission, but according to the numbers, remission is very rare, occurring in 1 in 60, 000 cases.
Although remission can occur in almost all diseases, some cancers have a greater number of cases. These types are neuroblastoma, renal carcinoma, melanoma, and leukemias and lymphomas.
