Key clinical point: In low endemic areas for hepatitis B surface antigen, patients with past or active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections have an increased risk for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Major finding: Patients with DLBCL, but not with various types of indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic (P = .008) and past (P = 0.002) HBV infections vs HBV-negative serology. The DLBCL vs pooled indolent B-cell NHL group had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.8; P = .014) and past (aOR 2.4; P = .0006) HBV infections.
Study details: This retrospective single-center study included patients with DLBCL (n = 253) or different types of indolent B-cell NHL (n = 694) who had either chronic or past HBV infections or no serological evidence for either.
Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from the Intramural Research Program of Sapienza University of Rome. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Visentini M et al. High prevalence of past hepatitis B virus infection in diffuse large B cell lymphoma: A retrospective study from Italy. Ann Hematol. 2023 (Aug 31). doi: 10.1007/s00277-023-05412-1