NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA AND HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a recently described and important caus e of acute and chronic liver disease. A hallmark of HCV is its propens ity to become chronic, some patients with chronic HCV progressing to c irrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCV is also lymphotrophic and we report 2 patients with HCV cirrhosis who developed non-Hodgkin s lymphoma (NHL). These cases raise the possibility that chronic HCV i nfection of lymphocytes plays an aetiological role in this malignancy. However screening of a further 63 consecutive patients over the age o f 50 years with NHL for HCV antibody by second generation enzyme linke d immunoassay (ELISA) failed to identify any patients with evidence of HCV infection. This suggests that HCV is an uncommon contributory fac tor for the development of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the United Kingdom .