ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HLA-DQB1 ALLELES AND RISK FOR CERVICAL-CANCER IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix and its precursor lesions are as sociated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Epidemiological st udies indicate that HPV infection in itself is not sufficient for cerv ical-cancer induction, suggesting that other factors contribute to car cinogenesis. We have investigated the potential role of host genetic b ackground as one such factor. We screened a series of squamous-cell ca rcinomas of the cervix for HLA-class-II DQBI alleles by the polymeras e chain reaction and site-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization and for HPV type from African-American women using a local, ethnicall y matched control panel. Statistically significant associations for in crease in relative risk for cervical cancer were seen for DQBI0303 an d DQBI0604. DQBI*0201 and the hetero-zygote DQBI*0301/*0501 showed a decrease in relative risk for cervical cancer. HPV typing revealed no association between virus type and DQBI alleles. Our results confirm o ther studies showing an increase in relative risk for cervical cancer associated with HLA-DQ3 alleles in Caucasians. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, In c.