GBV‐C/hepatitis G virus infection and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma: a case control study

Abstract

We investigated whether there was an association between GBV‐C viremia and the development of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 553 NHL cases and 438 controls from British Columbia, Canada. Cases were aged 20–79, diagnosed between March 2000 and February 2004, and resident in Greater Vancouver or Victoria. Cases and controls were tested for GBV‐C RNA by RT‐PCR and positive samples were genotyped. Overall, GBV‐C RNA was detected in 4.5% of NHL cases vs. 1.8% of controls [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22–6.69]. The association between GBV‐C RNA detection and NHL remained even after individuals with a history of prior transfusion, injection drug use and hepatitis C virus sero‐positivity were excluded. GBV‐C viremia showed the strongest association with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (adjusted OR = 5.18, 95% CI = 2.06–13.71). Genotyping was performed on 29/33 GBV‐C RNA positive individuals; genotypes 2a (n = 22); 2b (n = 5) and 3 (n = 2) were identified, consistent with the distribution of genotypes found in North America. This is the largest case‐control study to date associating GBV‐C viremia and NHL risk. As GBV‐C is known to be transmitted through blood products this may have important implications for blood safety.

Hepatitis viruses and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: A review

“…Renzo and colleagues reported that, in a series of unselected and untransfused patients in Italy, the prevalence of HGV infections were significantly higher in patients suffering from lymphoproliferative disease compared to healthy subjects [65] . Similar reports on the association of HGV and NHL can also be found from the countries like Germany, Canada, and Greece [64,[66][67][68][69] . On the contrary, a study from Turkey, suggested neither HCV nor HGV can be linked to NHL [70] .…”

Hepatitis G virus (HGV), its prevalence and genotypes in patients with hepatitis B & C in Ahvaz, Southwest Iran

“…This virus is transmitted via blood and blood products, like the hepatitis C virus (HCV) (2). HGV has a worldwide distribution among those with multiple sexual partners and drug abusers (3). Based on analysis of the 5' noncoding region (NCR) or E2 sequence, there are 5 major genotypes and a recently identified sixth genotype, all distributed distinctly in different geographical regions (4).…”

Hepatitis C virus-associated B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas: what do we know?

“…GBV-C replicates in B and T lymphocytes. Some studies, mainly retrospective, suggest an association between GBV-C infection and lymphomas, but do not provide conclusive evidence of a causative role [Krajden et al 2010;Nicolosi Guidicelli et al 2012]. There are only limited data about the involvement of HBV in lymphoma development [Marcucci et al 2012].…”