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RESEARCH ON VETERANS SHOWS RISK OF LYMPHOMA
INCREASES WITH HEPATITIS C INFECTION --
Hepatitis C
infection increased the risk of developing
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 20% to 30%.
Story here...
http://www.eurekalert.org/
pub_releases/2007-05/nci-rol050407.php
Story below:
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Contact: NCI Press Officers
ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov
301-496-6641
NIH/National Cancer Institute
Risk of lymphoma increases with hepatitis C virus infection
People infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at an increased
risk of developing certain lymphomas (cancers of the lymphatic system),
according to a study published in the May 8, 2007, issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association. Researchers from the National
Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and
Baylor College of Medicine, found that HCV infection increased the risk
of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 20 percent to 30 percent. The
risk of developing Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (a rare type of
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) went up by 300 percent and the risk for
cryoglobulinemia, a condition marked by abnormal levels of certain
antibodies in the blood, was also elevated for those with HCV
infections.
The researchers looked at patient records collected from Veterans
Affairs (VA) hospitals across the United States between 1996 and 2004.
Researchers selected more than 700,000 records; 146,394 represented
patients who were diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus, while 572,293
represented patients who were not. Based on that review, researchers
determined, first, that the patients infected with HCV had a higher risk
of developing lymphoma and, second, that HCV infection preceded
development of the lymphoma. The risk of lymphomas in HCV-infected
patients was charted across more than five years of follow-up.
"This is one of the largest studies ever conducted to look at the
relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and cancers of the
lymphatic system," said NCI Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D. "Since so
much is still unknown about the causes of lymphoma, establishing which
factors contribute to the disease is the first step in finding ways to
reduce its incidence and lessen mortality."
HCV causes hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver. The HCV
virus is carried through the blood and is passed from person to person
through the exchange of bodily fluids -- via shared needles, open
wounds, and sexual contact, among other means. HCV is also known to
cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.
"Although the risk of developing lymphomas is small, our research
suggests that screening of HCV-infected individuals could identify
conditions which may lead to cancer. It might then be possible to
prevent progression to lymphoma," said investigator Eric A. Engels,
M.D., from the Viral Epidemiology Branch of NCI's Division of Cancer
Epidemiology and Genetics. "More research is needed to further clarify
the relationship between HCV infection and lymphoma."
In the United States, there are more than 4.1 million people living with
hepatitis C virus infection -- about 1.6 percent of the population. In
2007, it is estimated that 71,380 Americans will be diagnosed with some
type of lymphoma, which will take 19,730 lives.
The researchers note that this study was limited to military veterans
who used the VA system, so the results may not be applicable to the
overall U.S. population. The study population was mostly men (97
percent), the majority of patients were white, and the average age was
52 years. Patients in the HCV-infected group were more likely to have
served during the Vietnam era (1964-1975) than were uninfected patients
in the comparison group.
Previous studies found that the prevalence of HCV infection is much
higher among U.S. veterans who use the VA medical system (5 percent)
than in the general population, where only 1.6 percent carry the virus.
Several factors have likely contributed to this higher prevalence,
including demographics, socioeconomic status, and particularly a history
of injection drug use or blood transfusions received before 1990, when
screening for hepatitis C virus was started.
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This study was funded in part by the Intramural Research Program of the
National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health,
and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston,
Texas.
1. Harris RE, Hebert JR, Wynder EL. Cancer risk in male veterans
utilizing the Veterans Administration medical system. Cancer. Sept. 1,
1989; 64(5):1160-1168.
2. Namboodiri KK, Harris RE. Hematopoietic and lymphoproliferative
cancer among male veterans using the Veterans Administration Medical
System. Cancer. Sept. 1, 1991; 68(5):1123-1130.
For a Q&A on this finding, please go to
http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/
pressreleases/HepCLymphomaQandA.
For more information about cancer, visit
http://www.cancer.gov, or call NCI's Cancer Information
Service at 1-800-4 CANCER.
For more information on Dr. Engels' research, go to
http://dceg.cancer.gov/people/EngelsEric.html
For more information on NCI's Viral Epidemiology Branch, go to
http://dceg.cancer.gov/viral.html
Reference: Giordano TP, Henderson L, Landgren O, Chiao EY, Kramer JR,
El-Serag, H, Engels EA. Risk of Non-Hodkin Lymphoma and
Lymphoproliferative Precursor Diseases among 146,394 Hepatitis C Virus
Infected U.S. Veterans, Journal of the American Medical Association, May
8, 2007, 297 (18).
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Larry Scott --
