Control of fever associated with visceral cancers by indomethacin.

Fever commonly complicates intra-abdominal cancer when there are peritoneal or liver metastases but no infection. Although aspirin and acetaminophen have little or no effect on this fever and its debilitating effects, we have found that indomethacin dramatically and completely eliminates the fever. This observation and the measured decrease in urinary excretion of prostaglandin E2 suggest that fever associated with visceral tumors may be mediated by prostaglandins.