We performed a meta-analysis of 3 genomewide association studies to identify additional common variants influencing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) risk. The discovery phase was composed of genome-wide association study data from 1121 cases and 3745 controls. Replication analysis was performed in 861 cases and 2033 controls. We identified a novel CLL risk locus at 6p21.33 (rs210142; intronic to the BAK1 gene, BCL2 antagonist killer 1; P ‫؍‬ 9.47 ؋ 10 ؊16 IntroductionChronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of lymphoid malignancy in Western countries. 1 Although CLL shows a strong familial risk, 2 the genetic basis of inherited predisposition to CLL is largely unknown. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of CLL have provided evidence that the coinheritance of multiple low-risk variants located on chromosomes 2q37. 1, 2q37.3, 2q13, 6p21.3, 6p25.3, 8q24.21, 11q24.1, 15q21.3, 15q23, 15q25.2, 16q24.1, and 19q13.32 contributes to the heritability of CLL. [3][4][5][6] The statistical power of individual GWAS has been limited by the modest effect sizes of individual genetic variants, the need to establish stringent statistical significance thresholds, and financial constraints on the number of variants that can be followed up. Meta-analysis of existing GWAS data therefore offers the opportunity to discover additional CLL susceptibility loci.In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of GWAS data, followed by validation in an independent case-control series, enabling us to identify a novel susceptibility locus for CLL at 6p21.33. Methods ParticipantsAll data collection from study participants were approved by the respective institutional review boards, and all participants provided written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. For all cases, the diagnosis of CLL had been pathologically confirmed in accordance with the World Health Organization guidelines. 7 Discovery datasetsThe discovery phase was composed of 3 previously described GWAS conducted in the United Kingdom (UK-GWAS) 4,5 with 503 cases and 2699 controls, in the San Francisco Bay Area (SF-GWAS) 8 with 211 cases and 750 controls, and in the Genetic Epidemiology of CLL (GEC) consortium (GEC-GWAS) 3 with 407 cases and 398 controls (supplemental Methods, available on the Blood Web site; see the Supplemental Materials link at the top of the online article). Replication seriesThe replication series was composed of 861 CLL cases (565 men; mean age at diagnosis, 61.9 years), ascertained through United Kingdom hematology clinics. Controls were 2033 healthy persons recruited to the National Cancer Research Network genetic epidemiologic studies, the National Study of Colorectal Cancer, 9 the Genetic Lung Cancer Predisposition Study, 10 and the Royal Marsden Hospital Trust/Institute of Cancer Research Family History and DNA Registry. These controls were the spouses or unrelated friends of persons with malignancies. Both cases and controls were British residents and of European ancestry. Genotyping was conducted...

Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes results from the progressive autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells [1]. The autoimmune aetiology is signified in Europid populations by a strong association with alleles of the HLA class II histocompatibility genes, particularly those carried on the DR3.DQ2 and DR4.DQ8 haplotypes [2], and the presence of circulating antibodies specific for islet antigens including glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), the intracellular fragment of protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (IA-2ic) and insulin [3,4]. Diabetologia (2000) Abstract Aims/hypothesis. Our aim was to characterise the genetic and immunological features associated with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in a cohort of Indo-Aryan children resident in the United Kingdom. Methods. Children with Type I diabetes (n = 53), unaffected first-degree relatives (n = 146) and unrelated healthy control children (n = 54) were typed for alleles of the HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 genes. Islet cell antibodies and antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase, protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 (IA-2ic) and insulin were measured in the diabetic and control children. Results. The DRB1*03.DQA1*05.DQB1*02 haplotype was positively associated with the disease, occurring in 78 % of diabetic children compared with 22.6 % of healthy children (p c < 2.4´10 ±5 ). In simplex families, this haplotype was transmitted more frequently to the diabetic children than to their unaffected siblings (p < 1´10 ±4 ). The DRB1*04.DQA1* 03.DQB1*0302 haplotype was also transmitted preferentially to the diabetic probands (p < 0.025) but was not associated with disease in the case control study. Islet-related autoantibodies were detected in 89.6 % of diabetic patients compared with 11.8 % of control children (p < 1´10 ±6 ). Although protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 autoantibodies were detected more frequently among DRB1*04-positive diabetic patients compared with patients lacking this allele, the overall frequency of these autoantibodies was lower than observed in Europid diabetic subjects. This could reflect the absence of a disease association with DRB1*04 in the Indo-Aryan cohort. Conclusion/interpretation. Type I diabetes in our Indo-Aryan cohort is similar to the disease observed in Anglo-Europeans but has important immunogenetic differences. The low frequency of protein tyrosine phosphatase-2 autoantibodies among the Indo-Aryan diabetic children could have important implications for the design of future strategies for disease prediction in this population. [Diabetologia (2000) 43: 450±456]

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