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New study shows cancer rates higher in patients with HCV vs. general population
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VIENNA — A new study presented at the 2015 International Liver Congress showed that cancer rates were higher in patients with hepatitis C virus infection vs. those without the infection, according to an analysis of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California cancer registry.
“Chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States,” Anders H. Nyberg, MD, from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Diego, said during his presentation. “Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The aim of this study was to describe the cancer rates in patients with HCV versus those without HCV at Kaiser Permanente Southern California.”
Nyberg presented data from all patients on the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center cancer registry who were diagnosed with cancer with or without HCV between 2008 and 2012. Cancer rates per 100,000 patient years were compared among the two cohorts. In the HCV cohort, 145,210 patient years were included and 13,948,826 patient years were included in the non-HCV cohort.
Overall, 2,213 cancer diagnoses were identified between 2008 and 2012 (1,524/100,000) and 1,654 cancer diagnoses were recorded when excluding liver cancer (1,139/100,000), according to the presentation. In the non-HCV cohort, there were 84,419 cancer diagnoses (605/100,000) between 2008 and 2012 and 83,795 when liver cancer was excluded (601/100,000).
The HCV cohort had a higher rate of alcohol abuse, tobacco use, cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus compared with the non-HCV cohort, according to Nyberg’s presentation.
“After stratification for alcohol abuse, tobacco use, BMI and diabetes mellitus, the increased cancer rates remained significant for total cancer sites, liver cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” Nyberg said.
Nyberg also stated that even in the absence of alcohol abuse, tobacco use and diabetes, an increase in the rate of various cancer types among those with HCV was still observed.
“However, in the presence of those variables, HCV had a more moderate effect on the cancer rates,” Nyberg said. “Further study is needed to further evaluate findings.” – by Melinda Stevens
Reference:
Nyberg AH. Abstract #O058. Presented at: International Liver Congress; April 22-26, 2015; Vienna.
Disclosure: Nyberg reports receiving a grant from Gilead Sciences to his institution only.