Seroprevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus antibodies among patients with lymphoid malignancies at a tertiary center in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Akinsegun Akinbami,1 Idris Durojaiye,2 Adedoyin Dosunmu,1 Sarah John-Olabode,3 Adewumi Adediran,4 Olajumoke Oshinaike,5 Ebele Uche,1 Akinola Dada,5 Mojeed Odesanya,6 Olaitan Okunoye7 1Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria; 2Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; 3Department of Haematology and Immunology, Ben Carson School of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria; 4Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; 5Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria; 6Oak Hospitals, Ikorodu, Nigeria; 7Department of Medicine, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria Background: There is a significant association of human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) with lymphoid malignancies. HTLV causes a lymphoproliferative malignancy of CD4-activated cells called adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and a chronic myelopathy called tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). This study aims to determine the prevalence of HTLV among patients with lymphoid malignancies at a tertiary center in Lagos. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the hematology clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. After obtaining consent, approximately 5 mL of venous blood was collected from each subject. The serum was separated and stored at –20°C. Sera were assayed for HTLV by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for the determination of antibodies to HTLV-1 and -2. Western blot confirmatory testing was done on reactive samples. All patients were also screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) by rapid kits. Results: A total of 39 patients with lymphoid malignancies were enrolled, consisting of 24 (61.5%) with solid malignancies, while 15 (38.5%) had leukemia. Only two patients (5.1%) with lymphoid malignancies were reactive on the ELISA test. On confirmatory testing with Western blot, two patients (5.1%) with lymphoid malignancies were also positive for HTLV. All patients were HIV negative, but four were positive to HBsAg and HCV. There was no association between history of previous blood transfusion and positivity to HTLV (P=0.544). Conclusion: A prevalence of 5.1% of HTLV among patients with lymphoid malignancies was found in this study, and previous history of blood transfusion was not found to be a significant cause of HTLV infection. Keywords: HTLV, lymphoid malignancies, ATL, ELISA, TSP/HAM