Haplotypes of Human Leukocyte Antigens among Patients with Nasopharyngeal Cancer in Greece

Abstract

The concept that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in several ethnic groups has gained increased attention during the last 15 years. Earlier studies have suggested that an increased risk of NPC is associated with specific phenotypes of human leukocyte antigens (HLA). The present study was performed to examine the association of HLA specificities and haplotypes with NPC in a Greek population. In a genotypical study of 53 patients, a significant association between the haplotype HLA-B5DR11 and NPC was found, mainly in patients > 45 years. Also, the above haplotype was significantly associated with longer disease-free interval. HLA-B5 and HLA-B5DR11 were more often seen among patients with squamous cell histology than among those with the undifferentiated type. These results suggest that MHC loci are probably implicated in the pathogenesis and outcome of NPC in Greek patients.

HLA Associations with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…A higher frequency of HLA-B5 (15.4% vs. 12.2) in NPC patients was also reported in this study. Subsequently, other studies have reported a consistent and similar trend for the two alleles in two Greek [45, 47] and two USA Caucasian populations [44, 46]. Among these studies, the HLA-A1 positive association with NPC was reported as significant (OR=2.4, P<0.05) in one of the Greek population studies [45].…”

Association between HLA-A/-B Antigens and -DRB1 Alleles and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Tunisia

“…In our study, A23 was strongly associated with a decreased risk (RR = 0.049). This antigen has also decreased among NPC patients in the Greek population (13.2 vs. 30.8%) [3]. A protective effect of A2 has been noted in Caucasians [14], and a cell- mediated immune response against LMP-2 was only observed by the HLA-A2 molecule.…”

“…The World Health Organisation recognizes three types: well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), poorly differentiated and undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type (UCNT), depending on the extent of squamous differentiation. The UCNT is the most frequent in the nasopharynx especially in endemic areas, where it represents more than 90% of the cases [3]. The etiology of NPC is multifactorial and includes virological, genetic and environmental factors [4, 5, 6].…”

HLA Class II Alleles and the Presence of Circulating Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Greek Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…Zhu et al reported an apparent increase of DR2, which correlated to molecularly typed DRB1*16 allele, on 24 NPC patients in Northern China [49]. In a previous genotypic study of 53 Greek patients by using serologic techniques, we described a significant association between the haplotype HLA-B5DR11 and NPC, mainly in patients > 45 years [7]. This haplotype was more often seen among patients with squamous cell histology than among those with the undifferentiated type as well as among patients presenting a longer disease-free interval.…”