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

Objective: To characterize the clinical and immunologic patterns of expression, response to therapy, and outcome of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and associated hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who developed B cell lymphoma.

Methods: Various international reference centers constituted a multicenter study group with the purpose of creating a registry of patients with SS-HCV who developed B cell lymphoma. A protocol form was used to record the main characteristics of SS, chronic HCV infection, and B cell lymphoma.