Self-reported hepatitis and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: an analysis according to the time since hepatitis diagnosis.
OBJECTIVE
Using data from the Selected Cancers Study, the authors tested whether the association between hepatitis infection and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) varied according to the time since the diagnosis of hepatitis.


METHODS
Cases were 1177 men ages 32-60 diagnosed with NHL between 1984 and 1988. Controls were men with no history of NHL who were frequency-matched to lymphoma cases by age and cancer registry (n = 1852). Interviews were conducted to collect data on risk factors including history of hepatitis. No information on types of hepatitis was obtained.


RESULTS
Logistic regression analyses indicated that history of hepatitis diagnosed 3 or more years prior to the reference date was not a significant risk factor for NHL (OR [odds ratio] = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.63-1.35). In contrast, men with a history of hepatitis diagnosed within 3 years prior to the diagnosis date had more than a five-fold increased risk of NHL (OR = 5.77, 95% CI: 1.99-16.74).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the study was limited by lack of information on different types of hepatitis, the increased OR for hepatitis diagnosed more closely to the NHL diagnosis suggests that the reported association between hepatitis and NHL might partly result from increased detection of NHL in patients with recently reported hepatitis virus infection.
Wu
Hongyu
H
United States Military Cancer Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave., NW Building 1, Suite E-111 Washington, DC 20307-5001, USA. Hongyu.Wu@na.amedd.army.mil
Zhu
Kangmin
K
Levin
Lynn I
LI
Gorham
Edward
E
Levine
Robert S
RS
Shah
Mona
M
Potter
John
J
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors