Prevalence of hepatitis B or C virus infections in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are not only hepatotropic, but also lymphotropic viruses. Recently, some reports suggested that these viruses may participate in the development of malignant lymphoproliferative disorders.

METHODS

We investigated the prevalence of HCV or HBV infection in 348 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We also compared these prevalences with those in blood donors as a control group representing the general population in our area (n= 1,513,358). Next, we evaluated the clinical and pathologic characteristics of HCV- or HBV-infected NHL cases. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was classified according to the Working Formulation classification.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven cases (14.9%) were found to be infected with HCV or HBV; of these, 20 (8.1%) were infected with HCV, and 17 (6.9%) with HBV. In male NHL patients, the rate of HCV infection was significantly higher than in an age- and sex-matched population in the same area (P < 0.001, Mantel-Haenszel test). The rate of HBV infection also tended to be higher in the population (P = 0.0551). In contrast, in female NHL patients, the rate of HCV or HBV infection was not higher than in the general population. In HCV-infected cases, 15 cases (75%) had B-cell NHL and 16 cases (80%) were classified as being in the intermediate grade; B-cell NHL comprised 83% of all NHL cases. In HBV-infected NHL cases, 11 (65%) were of B-cell type and 10 (58%) were classified as being in the intermediate grade.

CONCLUSIONS

The high prevalence of HCV or HBV infections in our study population provides epidemiologic evidence suggesting that HCV and HBV infections may be involved in the development of a subgroup of NHL in males. Our investigation also revealed that both HCV- and HBV-infected NHL patients showed certain similarities in clinical and pathologic manifestations.