Southern California – Researchers at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California, have claimed that the people infected with Hepatitis-C are more prone to risks of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain types of cancers. HCV patients were two times more prone to suffering from cancer, as compared to those who did not. The study was conducted on a population two populations of HCV and non-HCV patients.
The researchers made use of data from all cancer patients above 18 years of age, from 2008 to 2012. The HCV population, of 100,000, showed 1,524 cases of cancer, out of which 385 were cases from liver cancer alone. The non-HCV population showed just 605 cases that included just 4 counts of liver cancer. The population for non-HCV was also kept at 100,000.
Lisa Nyberg, a senior author of the study, said: “The results suggest that cancer rates are increased in the cohort of hepatitis C patients versus non-hepatitis patients, both including and excluding liver cancers.”
The authors presented their paper at The International Liver Congress 2015, in Vienna, Austria. During their presentation, they did clarify that the results should not be used to jump to any conclusions. They stated that the study had not taken into account other conditions in HCV and non-HCV patients, like diabetes, tobacco or alcohol abuse.
It had been a known fact that HCV can increase the chances of liver cancer, but the current study has shown that it is capable of doing more than that. The end results of two populations suggest that the risk of cancer doubles in patients with HCV, when liver cancer is not included. However, if liver cancer is also taken into consideration, the risk is almost 2.5 times more.
Hepatitis C is one of the different types of hepatitis and leads to chronic inflammation of the liver. The virus is thought to spread through infected blood cells. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for the disease, but there are drugs available for its prevention. Additionally, some drugs may stop its progression as well.
