Multicentre Study of HCV Status in Egyptian Patients with B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with Assessment of Patients’ Immunological State

Abstract

Lymphomas encompass a group of lymphoproliferative malignant diseases that originate from T and B cells in the lymphatic system. Traditionally, lymphomas have been subcategorized into two groups: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Researchers have found several factors that may affect a person’s chance of getting non-Hodgkin lymphoma.One of these factors is hepatits C virus infection. Hepatitis C Virus is both hepatotropic and lymphomatropic virus and is estimated to affect over than 180 million individuals worldwide. HCV is further classified into at least seven major genotypes that differ by about 30 percent in their nucleotide sequence. These genotypes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ) show differences based on their worldwide distribution, trans- mission and disease progression. Genotype 4 is most common in central Africa and Middle East. It is noteworthy that genotype 4 is quasi-exclusive (91%) in Egypt.