High prevalence of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in occult hepatitis B virus-infected patients in the Tohoku district in Eastern Japan.

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a clinical challenge, but its relationship to clinicopathologic features and the risk of progression to malignant lymphoma (ML) are poorly defined. We estimated the prevalence of HBV infection of 1,358 patients with newly diagnosed ML. HBV infection was more prevalent in ML than in control patients.