EVALUATION OF HEPATITIS-B AND HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA AND WITHOUT LIVER-DISEASE

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are hepatotropic a nd lymphotropic viruses endemic to Sicily. To evaluate whether these v iruses may chronically infect patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NH L) and without liver disease, we examined serum samples from 24 such p atients. Five cases (20.8%) revealed HCV infection, as shown by the de tection of viral RNA through the polymerase chain reaction technique, while HBV-DNA was not found in any of them by the same method. These r esults provide one more epidemiological element supporting the hypothe sis that the association between HCV infection and lymphoproliferative diseases is not a casual event, and show that HCV may chronically inf ect patients with NHL without producing liver damage.