On May 2nd it was two years since the creation of a work team at ICO for the study of lymphomas: the Epilymph group. ‘We had already participated in some European studies, but it was on that date that a more or less stable group for the research into lymphomas was created’ explains Sílvia de Sanjosé, Head of the Infections and Cancer Unit of ICO’s Programme of research into Epidemiology and one of the people who gave impuls to Epilymph. Epilymph’s objective, in which the Verge de la Cinta Hospital in Tortosa and the Ramon y Cajal Hospital in Madrid also participate actively, is to study the different risk factors that tend to create lymphomas. Afterwards, under ICO’s leadership and the support of the International Agency for the Research into Cancer (IARC), located in Lyon, France, Epilymph extends to France, Germany, Ireland and the Czech Republic thus creating the group ‘Epilymph Europe’. Nowadays, there are more than thirty scientific publications associated to the group.
An expanding pathology
The lymphomas are about fifteen different tumours that affect the lymphatic system, and that have very different diagnostics and survival rates. The prevalence of the illness and the type of most common lymphoma have a significant variety in different countries depending, above all, on the infections that predominate over each geografical area.
The lymphoma is one of the tumours which increases most in the developed societies: in Catalonia, this increase has been 6.1% annually since 1980. Presently, the reason for this increase is unknown: a better diagnostic, the changes in life styles, the population’s ageing or the presence of immunosupressing illnesses are some factors thought to be possible causes.
New evidence
In the past few years new studies about the possible causes of lymphomas have been published. ICO has participated actively in works which have confirmed that the infection by the Hepatitis C virus, tobacco consumption and obesity increase the risk to develop lymphomas. Recent research indicates that hair-dyes used befote 1980 also favour the appearance of the illness. However, it seems that exposition to ultraviolet rays and suffering from asthma are protective factors. The study has also led to an improvement of the knowledge of the implication of the Epstein Barr virus and the Helicobater pylori in the lymphomas and to dismiss the SV40 virus as a cause.
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