Smoking and HCV infection increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Filed in archive Other Biotechnology News on July 26, 2005

Yet another reason to stop smoking: In the International Journal of Cancer, Dr. Renato Talamini and his colleagues published results from a case-control study showing that heavy smoking doubles the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In hepatitis C-virus infected individuals, smoking raises the risk approximately 4-fold.

"The effects of tobacco smoking and HCV infection seemed to act independently on NHL risk, leading to a grossly elevated risk for heavy smokers who are HCV positive. Tobacco and HCV seem to act at different stages of the process of NHL carcinogenesis."

Read the report here.

Incidentally, Sir Richard doll, the epidemiologist who first demonstrated the link between smoking and lung cancer, passed away last July 24, 2005. Read the TimesOnline obituary here.