HBV AND HCV INFECTION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER-A SINGLE ONCOLOGY CENTER EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to assess the correlation between hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection in patients with head and neck cancer at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Material and Methods: A correlation study was conducted at the medical oncology department, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, Pakistan, from April 2021 and June 2021. The study included two hundred and ninety-six patients of age greater than 18 years of either sex with a confirmed head and neck cancer diagnosis. The data regarding age, gender, ethnicity, area, education, family income, addictions, family history of any cancer, head and neck cancer history, site, type, stage and grade of tumor, nodal status, and presence of metastasis were collected from all the patients. Each patient had 15 mL of blood taken and forwarded to the laboratory for viral detection utilizing a third-generation Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. In the laboratory, the cut-offs for hepatitis B and hepatitis C were 2.0 and 1.0, respectively. SPSS version 23 was utilized to perform data analysis.

Results: The mean age was estimated as 46.23 ± 12.42 years. Of 296 head and neck cancer patients, 82 had hepatitis B infection (27.7%), and 102 had hepatitis C infection (34.5%). Almost 61 patients were co-infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. There was a statistically significant association between hepatitis B and hepatitis C among head and neck cancer (p=0.0001).

Conclusion: These results suggest a significant association between hepatitis B and hepatitis C among head and neck cancer patients.

Keywords: Co-infection, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Head and neck cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma, Viral infection