title: GBV-C/hepatitis G virus infection and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a case control study.
abstract: We investigated whether there was an association between GBV-C viremia and the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 553 NHL cases and 438 controls from British Columbia, Canada. Cases were aged 20-79, diagnosed between March 2000 and February 2004, and resident in Greater Vancouver or Victoria. Cases and controls were tested for GBV-C RNA by RT-PCR and positive samples were genotyped. Overall, GBV-C RNA was detected in 4.5% of NHL cases vs. 1.8% of controls [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22-6.69]. The association between GBV-C RNA detection and NHL remained even after individuals with a history of prior transfusion, injection drug use and hepatitis C virus sero-positivity were excluded. GBV-C viremia showed the strongest association with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (adjusted OR = 5.18, 95% CI = 2.06-13.71). Genotyping was performed on 29/33 GBV-C RNA positive individuals; genotypes 2a (n = 22); 2b (n = 5) and 3 (n = 2) were identified, consistent with the distribution of genotypes found in North America. This is the largest case-control study to date associating GBV-C viremia and NHL risk. As GBV-C is known to be transmitted through blood products this may have important implications for blood safety.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada. mel.krajden@bccdc.ca
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krajden
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Braybrook
authors.forename: Agnes S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Darrel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tellier
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petric
authors.forename: Randy D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gascoyne
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Connors
authors.forename: Angela R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Brooks-Wilson
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Spinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D029407:GB virus C / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral