Hepatitis C virus infection in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with immune-complex mediated disorders, including Type II mixed cryoglobulinaemia. Mixed cryoglobulinaemia is itself a low-grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder which may progress to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Studies from Europe and Asia have found a prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients as high as 34%. Other viral infections are also associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We speculated that non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients in the midwestern USA would have an increased prevalence of hepatitis C infection. We tested 73 patients with NHL and 20 controls with Hodgkin's disease for anti-HCV antibodies by EIA-2. Only 1/73 patients and no control subject was positive for anti-HCV. The anti-HCV positive patient had no identifiable risk factors for hepatitis C, and ALT was persistently normal. HCV-RNA testing by RT-PCR was negative. Thus, none of 73 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients could be confirmed to have hepatitis C infection. In a second part of the study, of 438 patients with HCV infection followed an average of 28.1 months, only one patient developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We conclude that in our population, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is not associated with hepatitis C virus infection. Based on these results and review of the literature, there are marked regional differences in the prevalence of hepatitis C infection in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Division of Gastroenterology, University of Missouri Hospital, Columbia 65212, USA.
P D
PD
King
J D
JD
Wilkes
A A
AA
Diaz-Arias
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers; D015897:Comorbidity; D003449:Cryoglobulinemia / Q000209:etiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008923:Missouri / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D015415:Biomarkers; D000410:Alanine Transaminase