Hepatitis B & C Among Patients of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and its Association with Pathological Factors

Abstract

Objective: To see the frequency of hepatitis B and C virus among patients presenting with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and to see its association with pathological factors in Pakistani population. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of the study: Department of Medical oncology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Jan 2020. Methodology: Total 251 patients of age more than 15 years of either gender with proven diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma were enrolled in the study. The sample of blood (15 ml) of each participants was taken and sent to laboratory for detection of virus. The HBsAg and HCV antibodies were detected using 3rd generation Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The cut-off set for HBsAg as 2.0 and for HCV as 1.0 in the laboratory, respectively. The information regarding socio-demographics, comorbidities, risk factors and clinicopathological features were noted on pre-designed proforma. Results: Out of 251 patients with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, 8.8% had hepatitis and 4% had hepatitis B No statistically significant association was found for prevalence of hepatitis B and C with respect to stage (p=0.791 and 0.299), histological type (p=0.165 and 0.398), bone marrow involvement (p=0.692 and 0.163) and site of tumor (p=0.067 and 0.116). Conclusion: The substantial proportion of hepatitis B and C in the current study provides epidemiological evidence that such infection may play a role in NHL growth.