Hepatitis C virus association with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Infectious etiology has been confirmed only in a few lymphoproliferative di sorders such as human T-cell lymphotropic virus in adult T-cell leukemia ly mphoma, Epstein-Barr virus in African-type Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease, and Helicobacter pylori infection in primary gastric B-cell lymph oma. In recent years, Ferri and colleagues have found hepatitis C virus (HC V) association with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in Italy. The aim of our s tudy was to determine the HCV association in NHL patients in Antalya. Forty -eight patients (22 women and 26 men, with a median age of 52 years) with N HL were included in the study. The control group consisted of 28 patients w ith various hematological disorders (11 women and 17 men with a median age of 50 years). Anti-HCV antibodies were investigated in 48 patients, and HCV RNA was assessed in 35 of them. Anti-HCV antibodies were found to be negat ive in the NHL group, but HCV RNA was positive in the serum of three patien ts (8.6%), who were diagnosed with diffuse small cell lymphoma (19%). Anti- HCV antibodies and HCV RNA were negative in the control group. Since HCV as sociation with NHL has previously been reported in Italy, it is likely that both genetic and environmental factors in the Mediterranean sea-region may be involved in the oncogenesis in HCV RNA-positive patients. Multicenter s tudies with large patient groups will disclose the true association of HCV with NHL in Turkey.