[ad_1]
FRIDAY, Jan. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) – A large number of cancer patients with hepatitis B and C in the US do not know that they carry the virus, which can lead to life-threatening complications in some cancer treatments, the researchers said.
The results suggest that screening for hepatitis B and C may be appropriate in community-based cancer clinics, according to researchers at the SWOG Cancer Research Network, an international group funded by the National Cancer Institute of the United States.
Hepatitis infection can lead to serious problems such as liver failure and kidney disease.
The study included more than 3,000 cancer patients across the United States who had undergone a blood test to screen for hepatitis and HIV.
The researchers found that 6.5% of patients had already contracted hepatitis B; 0.6% had chronic hepatitis B; 2.4% had hepatitis C and 1.1% had HIV. This rate is similar to that of the general population of the United States.
According to the study, a large proportion of patients with anterior hepatitis B (87%) and chronic (42%) were undiagnosed, as was 31% of patients with hepatitis C.
Undiagnosed HIV rates were low – 5.9% of HIV-positive patients were diagnosed in the study.
Many patients had no risk factors for infections, such as injecting drug use, such as: 27% had previously had hepatitis B; 21% with chronic hepatitis B; 32% suffer from hepatitis C; and about 20% with HIV.
"Our findings do not suggest that universal HIV testing is necessary for cancer patients, but they bring new evidence to inform a discussion within the oncological community about the opportunity of cancer." whether or not to require hepatitis screening, "said Dr. Scott Ramsey, SWOG investigator.
Ramsey is also director of research at the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer in Seattle.
He added that screening may be particularly important at the age of immunotherapy for cancer, because treatments can affect the immune system of patients and change the course of their viral infections.
"Although we know little about the impact of immunotherapies on patients with cancer, hepatitis and other viral infections, oncologists should know as much as possible about the condition general health of the people they deal with, "said Ramsey in a SWOG statement.
Joseph Unger, a biostatistician from SWOG, also based at the Hutchinson Institute, said chronic hepatitis B and C were a major challenge, as they affected millions of Americans, many of whom had cancer.
"Screening for these diseases in cancer patients could detect a large number of undiagnosed cases and help alter their cancer care to improve outcomes," Unger said in a press release.
Ramsey badyzes the results of a separate study conducted by SWOG to determine whether universal screening for hepatitis and HIV in cancer patients would be cost-effective.
The report was published online on 17 January in JAMA Oncology.
More information
The World Health Organization has more on hepatitis.
SOURCE: SWOG, press release of January 17, 2019
[ad_2]Source link
