Lymphomas and thyroid

[marco126]

I notice there are some number of people putting up with NH lymphomas and also thyroid difficulties can anyone tell me they think they abtained these problems from treament at all.and I have a admiration for all you people who have gon thrugh 48 weeks I hope it's short for me.

[Idyllic]

In my case the Interferon is supposed to have caused what is referred to as Interferon-induced Hypothyroid. Prior to treatment my serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was normal. About a week or two after I finished Incivek my TSH became elevated. As a result I had to start taking thyroid medication. I didn't really have any symptoms so I was surprised when I saw my labs.

I have read a lot about Hypothyroidism since then and there is no real way to predict if my thyroid function will return to normal after treatment. I hope it does but from what I am gathering I don't feel very optimistic about it.

[Diana66]

And I will be the case study for the Lymphoma :) Hoping it will go in remission although some studies are saying something , other something else. We shall see.

[pooh55811]

Treatment can cause some people to develop thyroid problems. However, after treatment ends, the majority of the patients will revert to a normally functioning thyroid. If thyroid problems persist, they can be treated with medications. Most people on treatment do not develop thyroid problems.

The other thing is that Hepatitis C itself is linked to thyroid problems. So the Hepatitis C itself can potentially cause thyroid problems.

The Lymphoma has been linked to Hepatitis C itself (not the treatment). Many of the people who had or have lymphoma are treating because they need to get rid of the Hep C in order to keep the lymphoma in remission.

"LYMPHOMA"
"B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been linked to HCV infection. This is probably due to the long-standing stimulation of B cells caused by chronic HCV infection, although other factors must be important because most patients with CHC do not develop such lymphomas. A high prevalence of HCV was found in patients with immunocytomas, a low-grade type of lymphoma, which was associated with cryoglobulinemia. Another study linked HCV infection and splenic B-cell lymphomas. Seven of nine patients with splenic lymphoma were treated with interferon monotherapy. Two patients who had detectable HCV RNA after treatment received combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin. All nine patients had sustained virological responses and had remission of their lymphoma, as well. On the other hand, six control patients with splenic lymphoma without HCV infection did not respond to interferon treatment at all (12). It is therefore reasonable to screen for HCV infection in patients with splenic lymphoma as well as other low grade NHL. "

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Bonkovsky-2.html

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/Extrahepatic.pdf

I finished 48 weeks of treatment on Aug. 25th and I never had any problem with thyroid.