HCV did not worsen survival rate among HIV, lymphoma patients

Survival rates for HIV-positive patients being treated for lymphoma and coinfected with hepatitis C virus infection were no worse than patients without HCV, according to study data presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Stefan K. Barta, MD, MS, MRCP, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, and colleagues analyzed medical records of 190 HIV-positive patients with lymphoma at Albert Einstein Cancer Center in New York between 1997 and 2013. Twenty-eight percent of patients also were infected with hepatitis C virus, 8.4% were coinfected with hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) and one patient was coinfected with HCV and HBV. The final analysis included the patient coinfected with HCV and HBV, 107 patients without HCV and HBV, and 50 patients positive for HCV, but negative for HBV. Patients who were HCV positive were older (aged 52 years vs. 44), had a greater Charlson comorbidity score (13 vs. 11, P<.01) and cirrhosis (24% vs. 0%), compared with HCV-negative patients.

Stefan K. Barta

Using multivariate analysis, researchers found that patients with HCV did not have worse overall survival (OS) rates compared with HCV-negative patients (HR=0.98; 95% CI, 0.54-1.8). HCV-positive patients had a median OS of 59.7 months vs. 88.6 months for patients negative for HCV and HBV.

Advanced stage disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, lactate dehydrogenase levels greater than 190 U/L, CD4 counts less than 100 cells/mm³ and cirrhosis were independently associated with worse OS.

“Many patients do experience some reactivation of the hepatitis C virus, but in most patients it seems to be self-limited and does not affect outcomes for cancer treatment,” Barta said a press release. “Patients undergoing chemotherapy can experience reactivation of the hepatitis C virus, which in turn can lead to liver failure. This means we have to dose-reduce chemotherapy, which could negatively affect outcomes.”

For more information:

Sridharan A. Abstract #8578. Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 30-June 3, 2014; Chicago.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.