Author/Authors :
HASHEM, AHMED M. Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Internal Medicine, Egypt , FAHMY, HALA M. Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Internal Medicine, Egypt , ABDO, AML E. Al-Azhar University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Microbiology, Egypt , TAWFEEK, AMANI Al-Azhar University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Microbiology, Egypt , SAAD, AYMAN University of Alabama at Birmingham - Division of Hematology and Oncology, USA , SHOREIBAH, MOHAMED G. University of Alabama at Birmingham - Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, USA , MASSOUD, OMAR University of Alabama at Birmingham - Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, USA
Abstract :
Background: Many studies have investigated the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infections in patients with hematological malignancies. Most studies regarding the prevalence of HCV infection suggested that HCV infection has a pathogenic role in lymphoproliferative disorders, including multiple myeloma which is the second most common hematologic cancer. New form of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been identified and defined as “occult” HCV infection (OCI). OCI is characterized by detection of HCV-RNA in liver tissue alone, or in liver tissue and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In Egypt, high incidence of OCI in nonalcoholic liver disease (40.7%) was found. Aim of the Work: To investigate the prevalence of occult HCV in multiple myeloma patients and correlate this to staging of myeloma. Subjects and Methods: The study included 106 Egyptian multiple myeloma (MM) patients (Group I) and 100 sex and age matched apparently healthy subjects served as control (Group II). Both groups were negative for “HCV-RNA” by RT-PCR in serum. MM patients were classified according to International staging system for multiple myeloma, Group IA included stage I, Group IB included stage II III. Diagnosis of OCI for all participants was done by extraction and detection of the “HCV-RNA Plus Strand” (advanced testing) from serum and PBMC. Results: 24.5% of MM patients had OCI compared to 3% OCI only in control group (p-value=0.01) suggesting association of OCI with MM. On the other hand, on comparing (group IA) vs (group IB), no significant relation between the stage of MM and the presence of OCI was found (p-value=1.0). Conclusion: Our findings suggest significant association of OCI and multiple myeloma. Further studies are needed to verify the causal relationship and also investigate the impact of OCI on the outcome of MM after chemotherapy.
