Infection with Hepatitis B and C Viruses and Risk of Lymphoid Malignancies in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Abstract

Background: Case-control studies suggested a moderate, but consistent, association of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with lymphoid tissue malignancies, especially non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). More limited data suggested that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection might also be associated with NHL. However, prospective studies on the topic are few.Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted in eight countries participating in the EPIC prospective study. Seven hundred thirty-nine incident cases of NHL, 238 multiple myeloma (MM), and 46 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) were matched with 2,028 controls. Seropositivity to anti-HCV, anti-HBc, and HBsAg was evaluated and conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for NHL, MM, or HL, and their combination.Results: Anti-HCV seropositivity among controls in different countries ranged from 0% to 5.3%; HBsAg from 0% to 2.7%; and anti-HBc from 1.9% to 45.9%. Similar nonsignificant associations were found with seropositivity to HBsAg for NHL (OR ¼ 1.78; 95% CI: 0.78-4.04), MM (OR ¼ 4.00; 95% CI: 1.00-16.0), and HL (OR ¼ 2.00; 95% CI: 0.13-32.0). The association between HBsAg and the combination of NHL, MM, and HL (OR ¼ 2.21; 95% CI: 1.12-4.33) was similar for cancer diagnosed less than 3 and 3 or more years after blood collection. No significant association was found between anti-HCV and NHL, MM, or HL risk, but the corresponding CIs were very broad.Conclusions: Chronic HBV infection may increase the risk of lymphoid malignancies among healthy European volunteers.Impact: Treatment directed at control of HBV infection should be evaluated in HBsAg-seropositive patients with lymphoid tissue malignancies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(1); 208-14. Ó2011 AACR.

No evidence of an increased mortality risk associated with low levels of glycated haemoglobin in a non-diabetic UK population

“…We observed much lower levels of markers of liver damage compared with NHANES overall and particularly no increase in these markers in individuals with low glycated haemoglobin. Furthermore, the prevalence of seropositive hepatitis C assessed in a subset of the UK EPIC cohorts was 0.6% [28], which is also much lower than in NHANES participants (2.3%); this might therefore partly explain the divergent findings for the association between glycated haemoglobin and mortality risk.…”

Monoclonal IgG in MGUS and multiple myeloma targets infectious pathogens

“…lymphocytic leukemia (8)(9)(10)(11). Malignant transformation may occur directly via B cell infection and transformation, or indirectly via chronic Ag-driven stimulation of the B cell receptor (BCR) that has identical heavy and light chain specificity for secreted mc Ig.…”

Liver Involvement in Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Types of Injuries and Therapeutic Implications

“…They were compared with 2028 witnesses from the point of view of the presence of serological markers of hepatitis B and C viruses. The authors concluded that chronic HBV infection may be a risk factor for malignant lymphoid proliferations [66].…”