[High prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the onset. Preliminary results of an Italian multicenter study].
143 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) at the onset entered this perspective study on NHL-associated risk factors. They were 87 males and 56 females with a mean age of 52.3 years (range 14.6-82.3). An associated hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was found in 16 of the 143 NHL cases (11.2%; 95% CI 6.5-17.5). They were 11 males and 5 females [mean age 59.9] year with disseminated (13/16) or localized NHL disease (3/16)]. The NHL histological subgroup was low grade (6/16), intermediate grade (2/16) or high grade (8/16). The cell origin was B in 15/16 cases and B cell-T cell rich in 1/16. The discovery of HCV infection was contemporary to lymphoma diagnosis in 6/16 cases but preceded the NHL onset in the other 10 patients. In these 10 patients the median time between HCV infection diagnosis and NHL onset was 3.6 years (range 1-14.5). These data confirm that in Italy the prevalence of HCV infection in patients with NHL (11.2%) is significantly higher than expected in the general population (1.3-3.2%). The finding that, in most cases, HCV infection was definitely antecedent to NHL onset, usually by years, adds evidence to the possible causative role of the HCV in lymphomagenesis.
Catassi
C
C
Istituto di Clinica Pediatrica, Università, Ancona. catassi@mbox.vol.it
Fabiani
E
E
Coppa
G V
GV
Gabrielli
A
A
Centurioni
R
R
Leoni
P
P
Barbato
M
M
Viola
F
F
Martelli
M
M
De Renzo
A
A
Rotoli
B
B
Bertolani
P
P
Federico
M
M
Carroccio
A
A
Iannitto
E
E
Baldassarre
M
M
Guarini
A
A
Guariso
G
G
Favaretto
G
G
Caramaschi
P
P
Ambrosetti
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral