title: The prevalence of hepatitis C and hepatitis G virus infection in patients with B cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas in Greece: a Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group Study.
abstract: Our aim was to investigate the association between chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the Greek population. We studied 120 patients (70 men and 50 women, mean age 59 years) diagnosed with NHL. One hundred and eight had B cell NHL (90%) and 12 had T cell NHL (10%). The presence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients and controls was investigated using the monoclonal enzymatic immunoassay (MEIA) method. The detection of HCV RNA and hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA in patients with B cell NHL and anti-HCV-positive controls was performed using an RT-PCR technique. Anti-HCV antibodies were present in only 2 of the 108 patients with B cell NHL (1.9%), while the prevalence of HCV infection in the healthy population was 0.6%, and in patients with various solid tumors treated with chemotherapy, it was 0.99%. Ten of the 108 B cell NHL patients (9.26%) were diagnosed as HGV RNA positive, while the prevalence of HGV infection in 285 Greek blood donors was 0.7%. Our findings do not confirm a strong association between HCV infection and B cell NHL for Greek patients. The increased prevalence of HGV infection detected in patients with NHL could imply the potential participation of HGV in the pathogenesis of NHL.
authors.affiliation: AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giannoulis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Economopoulos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mandraveli
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Giannoulis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nikolaides
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zervou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Papageorgiou
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zoulas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tourkantonis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannopoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fountzilas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D029407:GB virus C; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral