REVIEW  HEPATITIS C INFECTION: A SYSTEMIC DISEASE 

Minerva Medica 2021 April;112(2):215-27

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4806.20.07184-0

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Hepatitis C virus-associated non-Hodgkin lymphomas: the endless history

Gabriele POZZATO ¹ ✉, Cesare MAZZARO ², Valter GATTEI ²

¹ Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences, Maggiore Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy; ² Unit of Clinical and Experimental Onco-Hematology, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute IRCCS, Aviano, Pordenone, Italy

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global population problem due to its high prevalence worldwide. In the prognosis of patients with HCV not only hepatic but increasingly frequent of extrahepatic HCV manifestations, such as mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), are important. The role of the HCV virus in the pathogenesis of lymphoproliferative diseases is confirmed by a large number of epidemiological studies, as well as by the effectiveness of antiviral therapy in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The purpose of the review was to provide an overview of epidemiological and biological data explaining the role of HCV in the development of NHL. The review also discusses HCV-associated NHL treatment by the traditional antiviral therapy (interferon and ribavirin) and by the new direct antiviral agents.

KEY WORDS: Hepatitis C; Interferons; Ribavirin; Lymphoma, non-Hodgkin