PLoS ONE (Jan 2016)

Antiviral Treatment of HCV-Infected Patients with B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: ANRS HC-13 Lympho-C Study.

  • Laurent Alric,
  • Caroline Besson,
  • Nathanael Lapidus,
  • Juliette Jeannel,
  • Jean-Marie Michot,
  • Patrice Cacoub,
  • Danielle Canioni,
  • Stanislas Pol,
  • Frédéric Davi,
  • Pascaline Rabiega,
  • Loic Ysebaert,
  • Delphine Bonnet,
  • Olivier Hermine

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162965
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 10
p. e0162965

Abstract

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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with lymphoproliferative disorders and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHLs). Evaluation of the efficacy and safety profiles of different antiviral therapies in HCV patients with B-NHL is warranted.First, we evaluated the sustained virologic response (SVR) and safety of Peg-interferon-alpha (Peg-IFN) + ribavirin +/- first protease inhibitors (PI1s) therapy in 61 HCV patients with B-NHL enrolled in a nationwide observational survey compared with 94 matched HCV-infected controls without B-NHL. In a second series, interferon-free regimens using a newly optimal combination therapy with direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) were evaluated in 10 patients with HCV and B-NHL.The main lymphoma type was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (38%) followed by marginal zone lymphoma (31%). In the multivariate analysis, patients with B-NHL treated by Peg-IFN-based therapy exhibited a greater SVR rate compared with controls, 50.8% vs 30.8%, respectively, p<0.01, odds ratio (OR) = 11.2 [2.3, 52.8]. B-NHL response was better (p = 0.02) in patients with SVR (69%) than in patients without SVR (31%). Premature discontinuation of Peg-IFN-based therapy was significantly more frequent in the B-NHL group (19.6%) compared with the control group (6.3%), p<0.02. Overall, survival was significantly enhanced in the controls than in the B-NHL group (hazard ratio = 34.4 [3.9, 304.2], p< 0.01). Using DAAs, SVR was achieved in 9/10 patients (90%). DAAs were both well tolerated and markedly efficient.The virologic response of HCV-associated B-NHL is high. Our study provides a comprehensive evaluation of different strategies for the antiviral treatment of B-NHL associated with HCV infection.