Borrelia infection and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Reports of the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in malignant lymphomas have raised the hypothesis that infection with B. burgdorferi may be causally related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) development. We conducted a Danish-Swedish case-control study including 3055 NHL patients and 3187 population controls. History of tick bite or Borrelia infection was ascertained through structured telephone interviews and through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay serum analyses for antibodies against B. burgdorferi in a subset of 1579 patients and 1358 controls. Statistical associations with risk of NHL, including histologic subtypes, were assessed by logistic regression. Overall risk of NHL was not associated with self-reported history of tick bite (odds ratio [OR] = 1.0; 95% confidence interval: 0.9-1.1), Borrelia infection (OR = 1.3 [0.96-1.8]) or the presence of anti-Borrelia antibodies (OR = 1.3 [0.9-2.0]). However, in analyses of NHL subtypes, self-reported history of B. burgdorferi infection (OR = 2.5 [1.2-5.1]) and seropositivity for anti-Borrelia antibodies (OR = 3.6 [1.8-7.4]) were both associated with risk of mantle cell lymphoma. Notably, this specific association was also observed in persons who did not recall Borrelia infection yet tested positive for anti-Borrelia antibodies (OR = 4.2 [2.0-8.9]). Our observations suggest a previously unreported association between B. burgdorferi infection and risk of mantle cell lymphoma.
Schöllkopf
Claudia
C
Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. cko@ssi.dk
Melbye
Mads
M
Munksgaard
Lars
L
Smedby
Karin Ekström
KE
Rostgaard
Klaus
K
Glimelius
Bengt
B
Chang
Ellen T
ET
Roos
Göran
G
Hansen
Mads
M
Adami
Hans-Olov
HO
Hjalgrim
Henrik
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020522:Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013987:Ticks
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial