HCV and lymphoproliferative disorders

Mixed cryoglobulinemia is considered a lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by several clinical symptoms (arthralgias, purpura and weakness) and often by organ involvement. Recently, evidence of hepatitis C virus infection in the majority of these patients has been shown, even in absence of clinical and/or laboratory signs of chronic liver disease, suggesting that this virus could be the main etiologic agent of mixed cryoglobulinemia. Finally, HCV has revealed a lymphotropism both in vitro and in vivo. On the basis of these findings, the systematic identification of HCV in different hematological diseases revealed an increased prevalence of HCV infection in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, especially in immunocytomas, The present work offers an overview of a large number of experimental and clinical observations supporting the possible involvement of HCV in human lymphoproliferative disease.