Non Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a non-fortuitous association. Two case reports

Many authors suggest the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the pathology of B-cell non Hodgkin's lymphomas; this is based on epidemiological, physiopathological and therapeutic arguments. The frequency of the association with hepatitis C virus infection is variable in the different study (1 to 30%). We report two cases of hepatitis C virus infection in association with non Hodgkin's lymphomas. The first case presented a low grad splenic and nodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with hepatitis C virus infection and complicated by hepato-cellular carcinoma. The second case presented a high grad nodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with HCV infection. Our cases report confirms the hypothesis of a key role of hepatitis C virus in the pathogenesis of B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and in particular the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although of several hypothesis concerning the ethiopathogenic mechanisms of this association, new studies will necessary to improve the real mechanism of this association