title: Hepatitis B virus infection and B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a hepatitis B endemic area: a case-control study.
abstract: Several studies have reported a higher prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and suggested a pathogenic role for HCV, but studies on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are limited. To determine the association between HBV infection and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, we performed a case-control study in Korea, a hepatitis B endemic area. We recruited 222 patients newly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at Seoul National University Hospital between January 1997 and December 1998 as cases. Four age- and sex-matched controls were selected for each case, and the control groups comprised of 439 patients with non-hematological malignancy (control group 1) and 444 subjects with non-malignant conditions (control group 2). Relative risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among individuals tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen was calculated after controlling for other potential risk factors of lymphoma, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, transfusion history and HCV infection. Hepatitis B surface antigen was positive in 28 of 222 patients (12.6%) with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma compared with 32 of 439 (7.3%) in control group 1, and 21 of 444 (4.7%) in control group 2 (P = 0.001). The crude odds ratio for B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among the HBV carriers was 2.54 (1.46 - 4.45) and the adjusted odds ratio was 3.30 (1.69 - 6.45) by multivariate analysis. The present study suggests that the risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is increased in HBV carriers and warrants further investigation of the possible role of hepatitis B virus in the pathogenesis of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-744, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jee Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yung-Jue
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Byung Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Taiwoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Chul Woo
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae-You
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae Seog
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Hyo-Suk
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Noe Kyeong
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk; D012907:Smoking