Lymphoma Risk Increases With Hepatitis C

People infected with hepatitis C virus, or HCV, are at an increased risk of developing certain lymphomas, according to U.S. researchers.

Since so much is still unknown about the causes of lymphoma, establishing which factors contribute to the disease is the first step in finding ways to reduce its incidence and lessen mortality, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that HCV infection increased the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by 20 percent to 30 percent.

HCV causes hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. The HCV virus is carried through the blood and is passed from person to person through the exchange of bodily fluids — via shared needles, open wounds and sexual contact, among other means.