Hepatitis C virus infection in ocular adnexal lymphomas.

Objective: To assess the influence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on disease appearance and outcome of ocular adnexal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (ONHL).
Design: Retrospective comparative study (from January 1, 1992, through December 31, 2006).
Methods: The medical records of 129 patients with ONHL were retrospectively reviewed. All the patients were tested serologically for the presence of HCV infection. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of HCV infection.
Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of HCV infection, staging to evaluate the extent of disease at the onset, and clinical outcome data on overall and disease-free survival.
Results: The prevalence of HCV infection among the patients with ONHL was 17.8%. Seropositivity for HCV infection was significantly associated with extraorbital lymphoma at the onset (P = .006). High prevalence of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue disease (79.8%) was registered. Protocol therapy included radiotherapy and chemotherapy, depending on the stage of the disease. Complete remission was achieved in 99 patients (76.7%). A total of 23.6% of patients with HCV-seronegative status and 21.7% of those with HCV-seropositive status experienced relapse of the lymphomatous disease. No significant differences in the 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival between the 2 groups were observed.
Conclusions: Prevalence of HCV infection in patients with ONHL is a relevant issue, accounting for 17.8% of the examined patients. Infection with HCV may influence the initial appearance of ONHL because it is associated with more widespread disease at the onset. However, the overall and disease-free survival of the infected patients are not statistically different than that of patients who are not infected.