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Hepatitis B virus infection and risk of lymphoma: results of a serological analysis within the European case–control study Epilymph

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Abstract

Background

We have recently reported from Epilymph, a multicentre case–control study of lymphoma conducted in six European countries, a significant association between NHL and self-reported history of past or present HBV infection based on questionnaire data from face-to-face interviews.

Methods

To corroborate this observation, we used the data and blood specimen from Epilymph to investigate the associations between serological indicators of HBV infection with risk of Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and specific lymphoma entities. For 1,518 cases and 1,496 controls with sufficient amount of serum or plasma, we tested HBs-antigen, anti-HBc and anti-HBs to distinguish between current or past infection and immunity by vaccination. Statistical analysis was carried out with unconditional logistic regression.

Results

We found a positive association of a past HBV infection with multiple myeloma (MM, OR = 1.97, 95 % CL = 1.16–3.37). Non-significant associations were found between past HBV infection and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL, OR = 1.33, 95 % CL = 0.82–2.16) and T-cell NHL (OR = 1.59, 95 % CL = 0.65–3.90), as well as between current HBV infection and NHL (OR = 1.49, 95 % CL = 0.65–3.41), B-NHL (OR = 1.58, 95 % CL = 0.69–3.64) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL, OR = 1.50, 95 % CL = 0.47–4.82). Subjects having self-reported HBV infection were serological positive in 75 % of cases and 80 % of controls. For vaccination, the corresponding figures were 49 and 54 %, respectively.

Conclusion

The present results support previous reports of an association between a history of HBV infection with an elevated lymphoma risk and add multiple myeloma to the list of potentially virus-associated lymphoma entities.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Sabine Holzmeier (German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg) who performed data management and assisted data analysis, and Ulrike von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, Johannes Schnitzler and Theron Johnson who assisted lab analysis. Theron Johnson conducted additionally a linguistic editing of the manuscript. Epilymph was supported by: (1) the EC 5th Framework Program Quality of Life grant No. QLK4-CT-2000-00422; (2) La Fondation de France, no 1999 0084 71 (France); (3) the Federal Office for Radiation Protection grants No. StSch4261 and StSch4420 (Germany); (4) the Health Research Board, Ireland; (5) Compagnia di San Paolo di Torino, Programma Oncologia 2001 (Italy); (6) Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR 2009SGR1465) and the Spanish Ministry of Health grants FIS: 11/01810 and CIBERESP (06/02/0073) (Spain). This serological analysis was funded by the German Cancer Aid (109034).

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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Author notes

  1. Alexandra Nieters

    Present address: CCI, Freiburg, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Nikolaus Becker & Alexandra Nieters

  2. Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, Heidelberg University Medical Center, Heidelberg, Germany

    Paul Schnitzler

  3. International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France

    Paolo Boffetta

  4. The Tisch Cancer Institute and Institute for Translational Epidemiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Paolo Boffetta

  5. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    Paul Brennan

  6. Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lenka Foretova

  7. Registre des Hémopathies Malignes, EA4184, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France

    Marc Maynadié

  8. CHU of Dijon, Dijon, France

    Marc Maynadié

  9. School of Nursing, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Anthony Staines

  10. Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Pierluigi Cocco

  11. Unit of Infections and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Programme, IDIBELL, Institut Català d’Oncologia, Barcelona, Spain

    Yolanda Benavente & Silvia de Sanjose

  12. CIBERESP, Barcelona, Spain

    Yolanda Benavente & Silvia de Sanjose

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  1. Nikolaus Becker
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Correspondence to Nikolaus Becker.

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Becker, N., Schnitzler, P., Boffetta, P. et al. Hepatitis B virus infection and risk of lymphoma: results of a serological analysis within the European case–control study Epilymph. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 138, 1993–2001 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-012-1279-y

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