The Association between Hepatitis B Virus and Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Sudanese Patients in Gezira State Sudan

The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is steadily increasing worldwide. According to the Globocan 2008, NHL is ranked as the 12th most common cancer worldwide and the 4th most common cancer in Sudan. Sudan is endemic with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the association between NHL and HBV infection in Sudanese patients, Gezira State.
Methods: This was cross sectional case-control study was conducted at the, National Cancer Institute (NCI) University of Gezira, during the period from 2007 to 2008. A total of 81 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients and 95 hospitals based controlled of matched age and sex, were included in the study. All patients and control had their serum screened for the presence of HBsAg by ELISA and HBV DNA was tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The Statistical Program for Social Science (SPSS16.0) was used for all statistical analyses, and test of significance.
Results: The mean age of NHL patients was 37.9±23.6 years with a range (1-85 years). Male to female ratio was 1.9 to 1. There were different types of NHL in this study with the majority being B-cell lymphoma 70.4% (57/81), 49.38% (40/81 ) were positive by PCR, while controls 20/95 (21.05%) with significant difference between cases and controls (P<0.05). There was a significant association between B-cell subtype and HBV by both serological and molecular methods (OR= 6.5 95% CI: 1.3 - 32.5) and (OR= 3.6 95% CI: 0.8 – 07.4).
Conclusion: This study concludes that there is a significant association between HBV and the development of NHL in Sudanese patients in Gezira State the finding provides evidence supporting the hypothesis that HBV infection may have an association with the development of NHL patients.