Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global public health concern. Although recent findings suggest an inverse relationship between HBV infection and multiple myeloma (MM), the true relationship between these two conditions remains unclear.
Aim: The primary aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between HBV infection, defined as hepatitis B surface antigen positivity, and the incidence of MM.
Methods: We searched the PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases from January 1975 to July 2014 and reviewed the reference lists of all retrieved articles. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using fixed- and random-effects models.
Results: We identified nine case-control studies involving 30,646 patients with MM and 379,837 controls. HBV infection was not significantly associated with the development of MM (OR = 1.3; 95% CI: 0.92-1.82; P = 0.14). A similar risk of developing MM was present in different HBV-prevalent countries. However, significant heterogeneity was observed among studies (P = 0.01). A statistically significant relationship between HBV infection and increased MM risk was detected in sub-analyses evaluating high-quality studies and those with hospital-based controls (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: HBV infection may be associated with an increased risk of MM. However, confirmation of this relationship and the specific molecular mechanisms involved in the association between HBV infection and the development of MM require further exploration.
Keywords: hepatitis B virus; meta-analysis; multiple myeloma.
© 2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.