Hepatitis B and C virus infection in Romanian non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma patients

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Abstract
We determined the hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies (anti‐HCV) and the hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) in a cohort of 68 consecutive non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients diagnosed and treated in our institution between December 1997 and March 1999. 27 cases were diagnosed as low‐grade, 33 as intermediate‐grade, and eight as high‐grade NHL. In 35 cases (51.4%) we found evidence of either HCV or HBV infection. Anti‐HCV antibodies were found in 20 patients (29.5%) and HBsAg was found in 21 patients (30.8%). In six patients both anti‐HCV and HBsAg were present. Anti‐HCV were present in 12/27 low‐grade NHL cases (44.4%) and in 8/41 intermediate/high‐grade (aggressive) NHL cases (19.5%, P < 0.03). HBsAg was found in 10/27 low‐grade NHL cases (37%) and in 11/41 aggressive NHL cases (26.8%). Evidence of liver disease, as reflected by elevated aminotransferases or typical alterations at liver biopsy, was present in eight patients. Cryoglobulins were present in six patients, all anti‐HCV positive and with low‐grade NHL. The prevalence of both HCV antibodies and HBsAg was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in our NHL cases than in a sample of the general Romanian population, where the prevalence of anti‐HCV was 4.9% and that of HBsAg was 6.3%. It is difficult to say whether either HCV or HBV had actually been involved in lymphomagenesis or if α‐interferon treatment would be effective in this subset of patients.