Relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and extrahepatic malignancies

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the most common causes of liver-related deaths worldwide. Non-hepatic cancers such as lung and pancreatic cancers have been linked to HCV infection. This study aimed to determine whether HCV seropositivity was related to the development of extrahepatic malignancies and whether this had an impact on patients' survival.

This retrospective case control study included 1476 patients with lung, colorectal, pancreatic and breast cancers compared to 1550 age- and sex-matched controls regarding HCV seropositivity. In the cancer group, HCV seropositive and seronegative subjects were compared for TNM staging, histologic grading and survival.

There was no significant difference between cancer patients and controls regarding age and sex. The percentage of HCV seropositivity was significantly higher in the total cancer group compared to that in the control group (11.6% vs. 7.3%) [OR = 1.67, p < 0.001] and in cancer types: lung (20.1%) [OR = 3.20, p < 0.001], colorectal (11.8%) [OR = 1.70, p = 0.025], pancreatic (25.4%) [OR = 4.33, p < 0.001] and breast cancer (8.1%) [OR = 1.47, p = 0.03]. There was a significant decrease in survival among HCV seropositive subjects compared to seronegatives in colorectal [HR = 2.77, p = 0.002] and pancreatic cancer [HR = 2.2, p = 0.004], a non-significant decrease in lung cancer [HR = 1.02, p = 0.93] and a non-significant increase in breast cancer [HR = 0.79, p = 0.51].

HCV seropositivity was associated with increased risk of lung, colorectal, pancreatic and breast cancer development; it was also associated with reduced survival in colorectal and pancreatic but not in lung and breast cancers.