Hepatitis C infection and B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in British Columbia: a cross-sectional analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in British Columbia.


METHODS
A cross-sectional analysis.


METHODS
The British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), a Canadian provincial tertiary oncology referral center.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with B-cell NHL registered onto the BCCA lymphoma database in 1996 and part of 1997 and a control group of patients with T-cell NHL registered on the database from 1995 through 1997. Patients with HIV infection were excluded from the analysis. A second control group (n = 1085) consisted of health-care workers tested for HCV infection following a needle-stick injury.


METHODS
Stored sera from patients with B-cell NHL (n = 88) and T-cell NHL (n = 37), identified from the database, were tested for the presence of HCV infection with commercially available serologic tests.


METHODS
HCV seropositivity in the B-cell lymphoma group compared to the control groups (T-cell NHL and health-care workers).


RESULTS
2.3% of the B-cell NHL group, none of the T-cell NHL group and 1% of the health-care worker control group were positive for HCV infection. These results were not statistically significantly different.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients in British Columbia with B-cell NHL do not have an increased prevalence of HCV infection. These data suggest that the lymphotrophism of HCV may differ by regional, racial and genotypic variations around the world.
Shariff
S
S
Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Yoshida
E M
EM
Gascoyne
R D
RD
Le
N
N
Connors
J M
JM
Middleton
P J
PJ
Shenkier
T N
TN
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate