Hepatitis C and non-Hodgkin lymphoma among 4784 cases and 6269 controls from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium.
OBJECTIVE
Increasing evidence points towards a role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in causing malignant lymphomas. We pooled case-control study data to provide robust estimates of the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) subtypes after HCV infection.


METHODS
The analysis included 7 member studies from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph) based in Europe, North America, and Australia. Adult cases of NHL (n = 4784) were diagnosed between 1988 and 2004 and controls (n = 6269) were matched by age, sex, and study center. All studies used third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to test for antibodies against HCV in serum samples. Participants who were human immunodeficiency virus positive or were organ-transplant recipients were excluded.


RESULTS
HCV infection was detected in 172 NHL cases (3.60%) and in 169 (2.70%) controls (odds ratio [OR], 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40-2.25). In subtype-specific analyses, HCV prevalence was associated with marginal zone lymphoma (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.44-4.23), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.68-2.99), and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.14-5.79). Notably, risk estimates were not increased for follicular lymphoma (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.65-1.60).


CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm the association between HCV infection and NHL and specific B-NHL subtypes (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma).
de Sanjose
Silvia
S
Unit of Infections and Cancer, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Barcelona, Spain. s.sanjose@iconcologia.net
Benavente
Yolanda
Y
Vajdic
Claire M
CM
Engels
Eric A
EA
Morton
Lindsay M
LM
Bracci
Paige M
PM
Spinelli
John J
JJ
Zheng
Tongzhang
T
Zhang
Yawei
Y
Franceschi
Silvia
S
Talamini
Renato
R
Holly
Elizabeth A
EA
Grulich
Andrew E
AE
Cerhan
James R
JR
Hartge
Patricia
P
Cozen
Wendy
W
Boffetta
Paolo
P
Brennan
Paul
P
Maynadié
Marc
M
Cocco
Pierluigi
P
Bosch
Ramon
R
Foretova
Lenka
L
Staines
Anthony
A
Becker
Nikolaus
N
Nieters
Alexandra
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups; D012306:Risk; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology