HCV Infection Linked with Increased Risk of Lymphoma

Lymphomas are cancer cells that began, and are present, in the lymphatic system; a network of bean-shaped nodes located throughout the body with the job of fighting infection.

Research increasingly suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may play a role in promoting the development of malignant lymphoma. However, previous studies have been too small to establish an association between HCV infection and specific lymphoma subtypes.

As described in the December 2006 issue of Gastroenterology, German researchers conducted a large case-control study to assess the link between hepatitis C and lymphoma. The analysis included data from 1807 case patients with newly diagnosed lymphoid malignancy and 1788 control subjects without lymphoma in 5 European countries. Cases and controls were matched by age, sex, and study center. HIV positive patients and organ transplant recipients - groups at higher risk of lymphoma due to immune suppression - were excluded.

Results

• HCV infection was detected in 53 patients with lymphoma (2.9%) and in 41 control subjects (2.3%) (OR 1.42).

• When the analysis was restricted to individuals who tested positive for HCV RNA (indicating persistent infection and active viral replication), the OR was 1.82.

• In subtype-specific analyses, HCV prevalence was associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (OR 2.19), but not with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or follicular, Hodgkin's, or T-cell lymphoma.

• The sample size was not sufficient to derive any conclusions regarding rare types such as splenic marginal zone lymphoma.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the authors wrote, "These results support a model that chronic HCV replication contributes to lymphomagenesis and establish a specific role of HCV infection in the pathogenesis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma."

German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.

1/09/07

Reference
A Nieters, B Kallinowski, P Brennan, and others. Hepatitis C and Risk of Lymphoma: Results of the European Multicenter Case-Control Study Epilymph. Gastroenterology 131(6): 1879-1886. December 2006.