Chronic HBV Raises Lymphoma Risk

Chronic hepatitis B virus infection -- common throughout Asia and Africa and often present since early in life -- raises the risk for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a large South Korean study confirmed.

Among individuals who were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the adjusted hazard ratio for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was 1.74 (95% CI 1.45 to 2.09, P<0.0001), compared with those who tested negative, according to Eric A. Engels, MD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., and colleagues.