THE ROLE OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA - A REGIONAL ASSOCIATION

Infection with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been aetiologically lin ked with the lymphoproliferative disorder mixed cryoglobulinaemia and more recently with certain subgroups of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Many of the studies which have documented the association with NHL have originated from Italy, where the background prevalence of inf ection with the virus is relatively high. We have performed a study, b ased in the West of Scotland, to determine the prevalence of infection with HCV in an unselected group of 110 individuals with lymphoprolife rative disorders (72 with NHL, and 38 with chronic lymphocytic leukaem ia), None of our cohort (both NHL and CLL) had evidence of infection w ith the virus. Our study suggests that whilst HCV may be important in the aetiology of certain subgroups of NHL, this effect may be regional and dependent upon the background prevalence of the virus in the comm unity.