Newton, R., Crouch, S., Ansell, P. et al. (6 more authors) (2007) Hodgkin's lymphoma and infection: findings from a UK case-control study. British Journal of Cancer, 97 (9). pp. 1310-1314. ISSN 0007-0920
Abstract
Between 1998 and 2003, 214 people with Hodgkin's lymphoma and 214 controls randomly selected from population registers in the north of England (after matching for age and sex) were recruited and their primary care medical records examined for details of clinical diagnoses due to infectious and non-infectious conditions in the preceding 15 years. In the year before diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma, almost all cases (99%) visited their general practitioner (GP) at least once. In comparison with controls, the excess was evident both for visits with an infection (odd's ratio (OR)=2.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4–3.2) and for visits with non-infectious problems (OR=17.2; 95% CI 6.7–43.9). During the rest of the 15-year period prior to diagnosis, the proportion of people visiting their GP with a non-infectious condition did not differ between cases and controls. In contrast, compared to controls, there was an excess of cases visiting the GP with an infection, a finding that was evident for at least a decade prior to diagnosis and increased linearly with time (P=0.02). This excess was not due to a specific infection(s) and may reflect underlying immune abnormality. Alternatively, infection may cause B-cell proliferation from which a malignant clone may evolve.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) |
Depositing User: | York RAE Import |
Date Deposited: | 14 Aug 2009 09:21 |
Last Modified: | 14 Aug 2009 09:21 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6603999 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603999 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:5712 |