Hepatitis C and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Among 4784 Cases and 6269 Controls From the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium

• Published in: Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 451 - 458
• Main Authors: De Sanjose, Silvia, Benavente, Yolanda, Vajdic, Claire M., Engels, Eric A., Morton, Lindsay M., Bracci, Paige M., Spinelli, John J., Zheng, Tongzhang, Zhang, Yawei, Franceschi, Silvia, Talamini, Renato, Holly, Elizabeth A., Grulich, Andrew E., Cerhan, James R., Hartge, Patricia, Cozen, Wendy, Boffetta, Paolo, Brennan, Paul, Maynadié, Marc, Cocco, Pierluigi, Bosch, Ramon, Foretova, Lenka, Staines, Anthony, Becker, Nikolaus, Nieters, Alexandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Australia - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Europe - epidemiology; Female; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Hepatitis C - epidemiology; Humans; Logistic Models; Lymphoma, B-Cell - epidemiology; Lymphoma, B-Cell - virology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Racial Groups; Risk; Sex Distribution; United States - epidemiology; Australia; United States; Europe; DLBCL; OR; CI; FL; UCSF; LPL; NHL; NOS; NSW; NCI; SEER; HCV; InterLymph; BLyS; MZL; New South Wales; International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; odds ratio; hepatitis C virus; National Cancer Institute; follicular lymphoma; lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma; not otherwise specified; Surveillance epidemiology end result; marginal zone lymphoma; University of California San Francisco; confidence interval; B-lymphocyte stimulator
• ISSN: 1542-3565; 1542-7714; 1542-7714
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2008.02.011

Background & Aims: 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).