Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection carries a risk of liver cancer and extrahepatic malignancy. However, the incidence trend and clinical course of malignant lymphoma (ML) in HBV patients are not well known. Data about ML newly diagnosed in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients from 2003 to 2016 were collected from National Health Insurance Service claims. A total of 13,942 CHB patients were newly diagnosed with ML from 2003 to 2016. The number of patients increased 3.8 times, from 442 in 2003 to 1711 in 2016. The 2-year survival rate of all patients was 76.8%, and the 5-year survival rate was 69.8%. The survival rate of patients taking antivirals due to high viral activity before their diagnosis with ML was significantly lower than that of patients with lower viral activity without antivirals (1 yr-77.3%, 3 yr-64.5%, and 5 yr-58.3% vs. 1 yr-84.0%, 3 yr-73.4%, and 5 yr-68.0%, respectively). The survival rate of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) at baseline was significantly lower than that of those without LC. Cirrhotic patients taking antivirals before ML diagnosis had a worse prognosis than who did not. High viral activity in CHB patients with ML seems to be useful in predicting the prognosis for survival.
Keywords: HBV DNA integration; antiviral agents; extrahepatic malignancy; hepatitis B virus; liver cirrhosis; malignant lymphoma; viral activity.