ANALYSIS OF HLA-DRB1-RELATED ALLELES IN JAPANESE PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CANCER - RELATIONSHIP TO GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY AND RESISTANCE TO LUNG-CANCER

Purpose: To investigate differences in HLA status among lung cancer pa tients, patients with hematological malignancies, and healthy controls in order to determine the genetic susceptibility and resistance featu res of HLA-DRB1-related alleles in Japanese patients with lung cancer. Methods: HLA class I (HLA-A, B, and -C) antigens and HLA class II (HL A-DRB1) alleles were determined in 36 patients with lung cancer, 35 pa tients with hematological malignancies, and 90 healthy controls. HLA c lass I status was investigated by serological techniques, and HLA clas s II by polymerase chain reaction/restriction-fragment-length polymorp hism analysis. Results: Lung cancer patients showed an increased frequ ency of HLA-DRB1 0901, and a decreased frequency of HLA-DRB1*1302 and DRB114-related alleles when compared to the other subjects. Conclusi on: These results suggest that genetic factors influence the susceptib ility and resistance to lung cancer. However, this study should be con sidered preliminary because of the relatively small number of patients examined and the possibility of racial differences in HLA status of l ung cancer patients between Japan and other countries.