Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination is Protective against Lymphoma Development, a Study Finds

By Ramadhani Chambuso

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been documented as a risk factor for a certain type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), worldwide.

Recently, a large cohort epidemiological study involved a database of one million people for sixteen years, reports that HBV vaccination is protective against lymphoma development in the teenagers in an endemic area in Taiwan, however they suggested longer follow-up is required for older age individuals.

Furthermore, they found that HBV infection increased the risk for developing NHL and specific aggressive lymphoma, with Hazard Ratios of 4.14 and 5.52, with a higher incidence of 17.07 and 13.9 per 100 000 person-years, respectively, compared to the non-HBV cohort.

Interestingly, this study demonstrates, for the first time, universal HBV vaccination reduces the incidence of NHL in adolescent and young adults less than 20 years. Further, it suggests that cancer prevention through HBV vaccination is not only for hepatocellular carcinoma but also NHL in endemic areas of HBV infection.

To conclude, this evidence suggests that HBV could be an etiologic factor for NHL and CD20⁺aggressive lymphomas, although confirmation of the mechanism needs further studies.

Source link: Huang et al. (2017).