Hepatitis C virus infection in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients

ABSTRACT

To determine the prevalence of HCV infection in patients with non Hodgkin's lymphoma in Assiut University Hospital and Cancer Institute of South Egypt. Eighty unselected patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were tested for the presence of Hepatitis C virus antibodies using Elisa immunoabsorbant assay. Two control groups were utilized for comparison; the first is a cohort of patients with non-haematological neoplasms; and the 2[nd] is a group of healthy blood donors. Patients with previous history of blood transfusion or liver disease were excluded from the study. Thirty-eight of the 80 B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients [47%] tested positive for Hepatitis C virus antibodies. About 24 out of 100 [24%] and 22 out of 80 [27.5%] patients tested positive for hepatitis C virus antibodies in the first and 2nd control groups. The results of this study indicate a higher prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection in Assiut patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than in the control groups. The prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection in the 2 control groups, in turn, seems to fall within the estimated high prevalence in the general population of our country