DECREASED FREQUENCY OF HLA-DRB1-ASTERISK-13 ALLELES IN FRENCHWOMEN WITH HPV-POSITIVE CARCINOMA OF THE CERVIX

Specific types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) are associated with mos t cases of pre-invasive and invasive neoplasia of the uterine cervix. HLA phenotype influences susceptibility and resistance to viral infect ions and may therefore influence the course of HPV-associated tumors. Some data suggest that specific HLA class-II alleles may be associated with protection from or susceptibility to papillomavirus-associated l esions, but these results are still controversial. Using molecular pro bes, we looked for associations between specific DQA1, DQB1, DRB1 HLA class-ii alleles, HPV types and cervical cancer. The analysis was perf ormed on a population of 126 patients with invasive cervical cancer. F or HLA typing, 165 healthy individuals were taken as controls. The DRB 11301/02 allele frequency significantly decreased in patients (11%) a s compared to controls (29%). This difference in frequency was depende nt on the HPV-positive status of tumors and was no longer significant in the group of HPV-negative lesions. The same trends were observed wi th the DRB11301/02-DQA1*0103-DQB1/*0603 haplotype frequency. An incre ase in the frequency of the DRB11401/07 and DRB1*03 alleles was obser ved in patients under 40. Contrary to what has been reported in the li terature, no increase in the DRB115 allele frequency was observed in our series and only a slight increase in the DQB103 frequency was fou nd in patients (70%) compared to controls (58%). In our study, no posi tive correlations between cervical cancer in Frenchwomen and specific HLA DR-DQ haplotypes has been found. In contrast, a negative correlati on between DRB11301/02 alleles and HPV-positive tumors has been obser ved. This may suggest a protective effect of DR13 against HPV-associat ed lesions of the cervix. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.