Tung-Hung Su1,2, Chun-Jen Liu1,2, Tai-Chung Tseng1,2, Shih-Wan Chou1, Chen-Hua Liu1,2, Hung-Chih Yang1, Shang-Ju Wu3, Pei-Jer Chen1,2,4,5, Ding-Shinn Chen1,2,4,6, Chi-Ling Chen4, Jia-Horng Kao1,2,4,5. 1. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 2. Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 4. Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. 5. Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 6. Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C infection is linked to lymphoma development. AIM: To investigate whether antiviral therapy prevents the risk of HCV-related lymphoma. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database during 2004-2012. We included patients who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV) antiviral therapy for ≥24 weeks (PegIFN/RBV cohort) or hepatoprotectants for ≥90 days without antiviral therapy (HCV-untreated cohort). Both cohorts were matched by age, sex, and comorbidities through propensity scores and followed for newly diagnosed lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). RESULTS: In total, 24 133 patients were included in both the PegIFN/RBV and HCV-untreated cohort. The lymphoma incidence was significantly higher in the untreated than in the treated cohort (66.48 vs 43.34 per 100 000 person-years, P = 0.029). After adjusting for confounders, the patients who received PegIFN/RBV therapy were at a lower risk of developing lymphoma compared with the untreated patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43-0.96, P = 0.030). Moreover, this beneficial effect was mainly observed in patients with chronic hepatitis C <60 years old with a relative risk reduction of 51% for all lymphoma (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29-0.82, P = 0.007) and 48% for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.91, P = 0.022). The risk of all lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma development after antiviral therapy was lowered to that of subjects without HCV. CONCLUSIONS: PegIFN/RBV-based antiviral therapy significantly reduced the risk of lymphoma, especially non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; the reduction was mostly among patients <60 years old. Early antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C is suggested.
BACKGROUND:Chronic hepatitis C infection is linked to lymphoma development. AIM: To investigate whether antiviral therapy prevents the risk of HCV-related lymphoma. METHODS:Patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database during 2004-2012. We included patients who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV) antiviral therapy for ≥24 weeks (PegIFN/RBV cohort) or hepatoprotectants for ≥90 days without antiviral therapy (HCV-untreated cohort). Both cohorts were matched by age, sex, and comorbidities through propensity scores and followed for newly diagnosed lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). RESULTS: In total, 24 133 patients were included in both the PegIFN/RBV and HCV-untreated cohort. The lymphoma incidence was significantly higher in the untreated than in the treated cohort (66.48 vs 43.34 per 100 000 person-years, P = 0.029). After adjusting for confounders, the patients who received PegIFN/RBV therapy were at a lower risk of developing lymphoma compared with the untreated patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43-0.96, P = 0.030). Moreover, this beneficial effect was mainly observed in patients with chronic hepatitis C <60 years old with a relative risk reduction of 51% for all lymphoma (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29-0.82, P = 0.007) and 48% for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.91, P = 0.022). The risk of all lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma development after antiviral therapy was lowered to that of subjects without HCV. CONCLUSIONS:PegIFN/RBV-based antiviral therapy significantly reduced the risk of lymphoma, especially non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; the reduction was mostly among patients <60 years old. Early antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C is suggested.
Authors: Hashem B El-Serag; Israel C Christie; Amy Puenpatom; Diana Castillo; Fasiha Kanwal; Jennifer R Kramer Journal: Aliment Pharmacol Ther Date: 2019-04-01 Impact factor: 8.171