Background: ''Does this patient have cancer?'' is a question frequently asked when confronted by patients with involuntary weight loss. The aim of this study was to assess the value of age, erythrocyte edimentation rate (ESR), and anemia in the diagnosis of cancer as a cause of involuntary weight loss. Methods: A retrospective study of 7850 patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine from January to September 2003 was performed. Especially

Background: To date, the studies that have been done on fever of unknown origin have mostly been descriptive. Therefore, we know the etiogical spectrum and how it has changed since 1966 for many regions of the world. However, we do not know if there are clinical or laboratory predictors of severe outcome. Being able to estimate the severity of the disease early on would allow one to determine how intensive the diagnostic work-up should be. Methods: