Characterization of B cell lymphoma in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and hepatitis C virus infection

Abstract

Patients with SS-HCV and B cell lymphoma are clinically characterized by a high frequency of parotid enlargement and vasculitis, an immunologic pattern overwhelmingly dominated by the presence of RF and mixed type II cryoglobulins, a predominance of MALT lymphomas, and an elevated frequency of primary extranodal involvement in organs in which HCV replicates (exocrine glands, liver, and stomach).