In the current study the sero-prevalence of HCV infection in patients with cancer was 0%. This result is similar to the findings of an earlier study [5] in south west Nigeria and another in Benin [6] where they reported a sero-prevalence of 0% and 0.25% respectively amongst general population of Nigeria children.
The sero-prevalence of HCV infection in the general population vary from one region or country to another, this variability is more in children with cancer due to their exposures to predisposing risk factors.
The low sero-prevalence of HCV infection in our study could be the combined effect of factors which includes the low sero-prevalence of HCV infection in the general population of Nigeria children and the asymptomatic nature of HCV infection in children as demonstrated by other workers in South West Nigeria and Benin respectively[22]. The low sero-prevalence could also be due to the robust and extensive National blood transfusion programme in place since year 2000, which has reinforced the mandatory screening for HCV and other transfusion transmittable infections, therefore resulting in safer blood and blood product in our various blood banks[23]. This effort at the national level have been augmented by the intensive blood transfusion programme put in place by LUTH at its blood bank, where most of our study subjects source their blood and blood products.
The results of the present study are also similar to the finding by different researchers in Turkey [10, 11] who reported an HCV antibody sero- prevalence of 0.7% and 0.9% respectively among children diagnosed with cancer in Turkey. Turkey has a sero-prevalence of 1.2% − 4% in the general population.
However the results from this study differs from that reported in a study on Hepatitis B and C virus in Egyptian children with Malignancy[12] where they studied 100 children with cancer and documented a HCV antibody prevalence of 43% also using a 3rd generation ELISA kit. This high prevalence might be explained by the high HCV sero-prevalence of 3% − 9% in the general population of Egyptian children [19]. Another study with a high HCV infection sero-prevalence was that reported by worker [20] in Italy in 1994, among children managed for ALL, where they documented a prevalence of 43%. The high sero-prevalence compared to our series can be explained by the long duration of their study and the fact that the study covered the period prior to the institutionalisation of mandatory HCV screening for donor blood. Similarly a study on Seroprevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus infections in children with cancer at diagnosis and following therapy in Turkey[15], in 2000 reported a sero-prevalence of 14%, this high prevalence was attributed to lack of proper screening of blood for HCV during the study period, unlike in the present study which was done in a locality where screening for HCV is mandatory and comprehensive.
The type of cancers diagnosed in the subjects did not significantly influence the sero-prevalence of HCV infection in the study. The finding is similar to what was obtained by different workers in Italy [21], Egypt [12] and Turkey [11], these studies did not find any significant relationship when these variables were compared.
Regarding the history of blood transfusion and the sero-prevalence of HCV infection, blood transfusion was not a significant risk factor amongst the subjects, this might be the result of the universal mandatory screening of blood donors for HCV at various blood banks in the study locality. This finding differs from the result obtained by researchers in Egypt[12] in 2007 ,Italy in 1994[20], and Turkey[15, 14] who found a significant relationship between history of blood transfusion and HCV sero-prevalence in their studies.
In the present study, the researchers was not able to asses for any significant relationship between the sero-prevalence of HCV infection and exposure to surgical procedures as no case of HCV was observed. This finding is like that obtained in Egypt [12] and Turkey [11] in their study. However some researchers in Egypt in their study involving children with cancer in Egypt found that certain invasive procedures other than the most commonly documented types are significant in the acquisition of HCV.
Finally, the study could not asses for any association between scarification marks, parenteral injections and sharing of razor blades and tooth brush and the sero-prevalence of HCV infection in our study. However authors [11] in Turkey in a similar study in cancer patient reported similar findings in their study despite having a higher HCV infection sero-prevalence. This however differs from what researcher [23] found in Sokoto, Nigeria when they screened 300 children with sickle cell anaemia for HCV and found significant relationship between parenteral injections and sero-prevalence of HCV infection.