Seroprevalence of Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the Yaounde General Hospital Cameroon

Abstract

The non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) are a diverse group of malignancies that originate in lymphoid cells, heterogeneous in clinical behavior, morphology, cellular origin, etiology, and pathogenesis. A viral infectious etiology had been associated with them. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among patients with NHL at the Yaoundé General Hospital (YGH). Participants for this cross-sectional study were recruited at the medical oncology unit from October 2018 to December 2019. For each patient fulfilling the inclusion criteria, five milliliters of blood were drawn at the crook of their elbows in EDTA tubes. Then, EBV, HIV, HBV, and HVC screening were done using the Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs); Bio-Rad EBV, Alere Determine HIV-1/HIV-2, HBV the best diagnostic and HVC Wondfo biotech respectively. Participants were made up of sixty-three males (69.23%) and twenty-eight females (30.77%). Their ages ranged from nineteen to seventy-eight years, with a mean ± SD of 56.5 ± 15.5. There were eight HIV patients (8.8%) followed by five EBV or HBV patients (5.5%). Three patients were coinfected with HIV+EBV (3.3%) while only two patients (2.2%) had HCV. Only HIV and EBV were seen coinfected. The presence of HBV and HCV in patients with NHL reveals the need to understand how these viruses induce lymphoproliferative diseases, more precisely, the non-Hodgkin´s lymphoma.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses and some possible associated factors among cancer patients at the Oncology Treatment Center, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

“…The Fisher exact test showed that sex was significantly associated with HCV prevalence, but not age. This finding was supported by previous investigations [ 19 , 20 , 45 , 50 ]. This might have been the result of hormonal differences, cultural variation, and physical characteristics which render men more vulnerable to HCV infections.…”

“…The HCV prevalence in our study was consistent with previous findings from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia among participants who were booked for surgery procedures (4.3%) [ 40 ]. Moreover, the current finding was also in line with study findings from Nigeria [ 19 ], Burkina Faso [ 53 ], Cameroon [ 45 ], and the USA [ 48 ], where the HCV prevalence reported was 2%, 2.3%, 2.2%, and 2.4%, respectively. However, our finding was higher than several studies conducted in Ethiopia [ 20 , 21 , 35 , 36 ], where the HCV prevalence ranged from 0.7% to 1.7%.…”

“…The current HBV prevalence was comparable with previous findings from Gondar among cervical cancer suspected women; 2.5% [ 21 ] and HBsAg prevalence studies conducted in Ethiopia, where the HBV prevalence rate ranged from 3% to 8% [ 35 – 40 ]. Furthermore, our findings were also comparable with studies from Egypt; 3.6% [ 41 ], Turkey; 2.4% [ 42 ], 3.4% [ 43 ], and 4.2% [ 44 ], Cameroon; 7.7% [ 45 ], China; 6.3% [ 46 ], Taiwan; 7.78% [ 47 ], and the USA; 6.5% [ 48 ]. On the other hand, the current HBV prevalence was lower compared to findings from Gondar; 14.4% [ 13 ], Debre Tabor; 13% [ 49 ], and Addis Ababa; 10.8% [ 20 ].…”