Researchers sought to assess the impact of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
In this retrospective analysis, published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine, researchers assessed 206 adults with DLBCL from 2011 to 2015. In total, 10.7% were HCV-positive.
The results showed that compared to HCV-negative patients, the HCV-positive group had a poor performance status (P = 0.011), lower platelet count (P = 0.029), and higher spleen and liver involvement incidences (liver involvement, P = 0.027; spleen involvement, P = 0.026). This group also received fewer cycles of chemotherapy, significantly due to morbidity and mortality (P = 0.048).
The researchers observed that overall survival (OS) was shorter in patients who were HCV-positive compared to HCV-negative (25.3 months vs. not reached, respectively; P = 0.049). The results of multivariate analysis showed that poor performance status (P<0.001), advanced stage (P<0.001), less chemotherapy cycles (P<0.001), and liver toxicity (P = 0.001) contributed to poor OS in DLBCL.
“Inferior survival of HCV-positive DLBCL was observed and associated with poor performance status, higher numbers of complications, and intolerance of treatment, leading to fewer therapy,” the researchers concluded. “Therefore, anti-HCV therapy, such as direct-acting antiviral agents, might benefit these patients in the future.”
