Abstract:
Objective To explore the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients, as well as to compare the clinical characteristics and outcome between HBV infected and non-HBV infected patients.
Methods The serology markers of HBV were detected in 363 MM patients and 11227 cases of healthy controls through chemiluminescence. HBV-DNA was measured via real-time quantitative chain reaction.
Results Sixteen out of 363 MM patients (4.4%) were HBsAg-positive, showing significant difference with healthy controls (2.4%). No statistically significant differences were observed in terms of sex, age, type of monoclonal (M) protein, International Staging System (ISS) stage, stem cell transplantation, and risk stratification between HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative patients. No significant effect of HBV infection was found on the OS of MM patients. HBV reactivation was observed in two HBsAg-positive MM patients who were treated with combination chemotherapy, including bortezomib and dexamethasone. The replication of HBV could be inhibited by anti-HBV drugs.
Conclusion A higher prevalence of HBV infection was revealed in MM patients. Close monitoring of HBV replication should be conducted in MM patients with HBV infection before and during the courses of chemotherapy.