Volume 6, Issue 4 , Pages 451-458, April 2008
Hepatitis C and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Among 4784 Cases and 6269 Controls From the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium
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).
Abbreviations used in this paper: BLyS, B-lymphocyte stimulator, CI, confidence interval, DLBCL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, FL, follicular lymphoma, HCV, hepatitis C virus, InterLymph, International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium, LPL, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, MZL, marginal zone lymphoma, NCI, National Cancer Institute, NHL, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, NOS, not otherwise specified, NSW, New South Wales, OR, odds ratio, SEER, Surveillance epidemiology end result, UCSF, University of California San Francisco
Individual studies that contributed data to this pooled analysis were supported by the following: grant CA62006 from the National Cancer Institute (Connecticut study); contracts PC65064, PC67008, PC67009, PC67010, and PC71105 from the National Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Institute Intramural Research Program (NCI-SEER study); grants CA45614, CA89745, CA87014, and CA104682 (University of California San Francisco study); the Italian Association for Cancer Research (northern and southern Italy study); grant CA51086 from the National Cancer Institute, the European Community (Europe Against Cancer Programme), and the Lega Italiana per la Lotta Contro I Tumori (Multicentre Italian Study WILL); a European Commission grant no. QLK4-CT-2000-00422 (EpiLymph studies); the Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer (no. 5111) and the Fondation de France (1999 008471) (EpiLymph-France); the Compagnia di San Paolo di Torino, Programma Oncologia 2001 (EpiLymph-Italy); the Health Research Board (EpiLymph-Ireland); the Spanish Ministry of Health FISS grants PI040091, PI041467, and CIBERESP 06/06/0073 (EpiLymph-Spain); the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (StSch4261 and StSch4420) (EpiLymph-Germany); and the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the Chan Sisters Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (British Columbia study); and project grant 990920 of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Australia study).
PII: S1542-3565(08)00123-7
doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2008.02.011
© 2008 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 6, Issue 4 , Pages 451-458, April 2008
