To investigate the effect of immunochemotherapy on hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation and related factors in HBsAg negative/anti-HBC positive patients with T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

In this retrospective study, NHL patients treated at the Department of Hematology of the Peking University Third Hospital from 2012 to 2020 were analyzed. The patients were divided into either an experimental group. The experimental group consisted of 56 HBsAg negative/anti-HBC positive T-cell NHL patients who did not receive antiviral prophylaxis, and the control group was composed of 65 HBsAg positive B-cell NHL patients who received antiviral prophylaxis.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in Ann Arbor stage, B symptoms, and total chemotherapy course (P>0.05). The incidence of HBV reactivation in the control group (13.8%) was significantly higher than that of the experimental group (1.8%; P<0.05). One patient in the experimental group had HBV reactivation; nine patients in the control group had HBV reactivation, of whom 5 discontinued chemotherapy or rituximab treatment due to HBV reactivation, including 2 cases of reactivated hepatitis B and 1 case who died of hepatic failure. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between HBV reactivation and HBsAg positivity, as well as the duration of treatment with rituximab.

The incidence of HBV reactivation after immunochemotherapy in HBsAg negative/anti-HBC positive T-cell NHL patients without antiviral prophylaxis is significantly lower than that of HBsAg positive B-cell NHL patients who received antiviral prophylaxis, with a relatively good prognosis.