Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Risk of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Southern China
Menée en Chine auprès de 711 patients atteints d'un carcinome du rhinopharynx, de 656 témoins atteints d'autres tumeurs et de 680 témoins non malades, cette étude évalue l'association entre une infection par le virus de l'hépatite B et le risque de carcinome du rhinopharynx
Background: Whether or not hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection plays a role in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is largely unknown. Our study aimed to assess the association between HBV infection and the risk of NPC in Southern China. Methods: We conducted a case-control study including 711 NPC cases and two groups of controls. The first control group consisted of 656 individuals with other benign tumors unrelated to HBV infection and the second group consisted of 680 healthy population controls. Multivariable odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for NPC were estimated by logistic regression. Results: NPC patients had higher prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis B core antigen positive (anti-HBc-(+)) (47.26%) compared to either benign tumor controls (39.33%) (p<0.01) or healthy controls (41.18%) (p=0.04). In multivariable models adjusting for a set of risk factors for NPC, anti-HBc-(+) was significantly associated with a higher risk of NPC (adjusted OR [AOR], 1.40; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.74 compared to the benign tumor controls and AOR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.08 compared to the healthy controls). The association was not modified by hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status. Finally, compared to the healthy controls, individuals with both anti-HBc-(+) and EBV antibodies had largely increased risk of NPC (AOR, 141.82; 95% CI, 68.73 to 292.62). Conclusions: Our study suggests that HBV infection is associated with NPC risk in Southern China. Impact: Prevention for HBV infection may play a role in the development of NPC.