Antiviral therapy improves overall survival in hepatitis C virus-infected patients who develop diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with increased incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Several studies have demonstrated regression of indolent lymphoma with antiviral therapy (AVT) alone. However, the role of AVT in HCV-infected patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is unclear. We therefore analyzed AVT's impact on oncologic outcomes of HCV-infected patients (cases) who developed DLBCL. Cases seen at our institution (June 2004-May 2014) were matched with uninfected counterparts (controls) and then divided according to prior AVT consisting of interferon-based regimens. We studied 304 patients (76 cases and 228 controls). More cases than controls had extranodal (79% vs. 72%; p = 0.07) and upper gastrointestinal (GI; 42% vs. 24%; p = 0.004) involvement. Cases never given AVT had DLBCL more refractory to first-line chemotherapy than that in the controls (33% vs. 17%; p = 0.05) and exhibited a trend toward more progressive lymphoma at last examination compared to controls (50% vs. 32%; p = 0.09) or cases given AVT (50% vs. 27%; p = 0.06). Cases never given AVT had worse 5-year overall survival (OS) rates than did the controls (HR, 2.3 [95% CI, 1.01-5.3]; p = 0.04). Furthermore, AVT improved 5-year OS rates among cases in both univariate (median [Interquartile range]: 39 [26-56] vs. 16 [6-41] months, p = 0.02) and multivariate analyses (HR = 0.21 [95% CI, 0.06-0.69]; p = 0.01). This study highlights the negative impact of chronic HCV on survival of DLBCL patients and shows that treatment of HCV infection is associated with a better cancer response to chemotherapy and improves 5-year OS.