Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) might be involved in the pathogenesis of B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL). Since several HCV genotypes are currently identifiable and might be involved in the pathogenesis of different diseases (with different severity and responsiveness to therapy), the aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of viral genotypes in a group of patients with HCV-related NHL. Among 470 consecutive patients, 42 HCV Ab-positive cases were identified. HCV RNA could be detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and genotyping performed in 31 of these cases. As compared to our control group (211 healthy blood donors and patients with chronic liver disease), a striking high prevalence of genotype 2ac was detected among B cell NHL (48.4 vs 9.0%), with a relative risk of infection of 5.37 (P < 0.0001). No major differences were observed in the distribution of NHL histotypes and in the clinical features among patients with genotype 1b (the other most frequent genotype) or 2ac, a part from a trend towards a higher percentage of liver disease and a lower likelihood of response to interferon for patients with genotype 1b. The same high prevalence of genotype 2ac has been recently reported in patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC), monoclonal gammopathies, B cell NHL complicating MC and autoimmune hepatitis. All these data taken together suggest that genotype 2ac might be involved in the pathogenesis of lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silvestri, F., Barillari, G., Fanin, R. et al. The genotype of the hepatitis C virus in patients with HCV-related B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Leukemia 11, 2157–2161 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2400869
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2400869
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
p53 destabilizing protein skews asymmetric division and enhances NOTCH activation to direct self-renewal of TICs
Nature Communications (2020)
-
Repeat hepatectomies for hepatic malignant lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma associated with chronic hepatitis C: report of a case
Surgery Today (2014)
-
Tumor-initiating stem-like cells and drug resistance: carcinogenesis through Toll-like receptors, environmental factors, and virus
Drug Delivery and Translational Research (2013)
-
Hepatitis C virus and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: biology, epidemiology and therapy
Oncology Reviews (2011)
-
Coexistence of Splenic Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma With Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Patient With Chronic Hepatitis C
Digestive Diseases and Sciences (2006)