HEPATITIS-C VIRUS AND SPLENIC NON-HODGKIN-LYMPHOMA - REPORT OF 2 CASES NOT ASSOCIATED WITH MIXED CRYOGLOBULINEMIA

Problem: HCV infection, alone or in combination with other factors, ma y be responsible for clonal B-cell expansion underlying systemic manif estations of mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), and may explain the appearan ce of a malignant NHL in some subjects. Methods: We reported two cases of primary splenic B-cell NHL associated with HCV infection, without any evidence of MC preceding lymphoproliferative disease. Both patient s were male, 44 and 40 year-old, respectively, at the time of malignan cy diagnosis. Results: They went to a diagnostic splenectomy and were treated with classic chemotherapy schedules. During treatment, they ha d flare-up aminotransferases. Conclusion: We, as other authors, sugges ted that HCV infection must be searched in all patients with isolated splenic lymphoma, even in the absence of MC, and that patients with ch ronic HCV infection should be frequently monitored for the development of splenic NHL.