MOLECULAR-GENETIC ANALYSIS OF HLA CLASS-II ALLELES IN JAPANESE PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA

Distribution of HLA-DQA, -DQB and -DPB alleles in ninety-six Japanese patients with melanoma was analyzed using the polymerase chain reactio n-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method, and the association between clinical parameters and the presence of certain HL A class LI alleles investigated. The frequency of HLA-DQB 10302 was i ncreased, while those of DQA1010l(04), -DQA1*0401 and DRB1*0802 were decreased in melanoma patients compared with controls. Moreover, the f requency of HLA-DQA10103 in patients with acral lentiginous melanoma was increased compared with controls. However, none of these HLA class II alleles showed significant positive or negative associations after correction of the P value. In addition, there was no correlation betw een these antigens and clinical parameters. These results indicate tha t HLA class II alleles may not contribute to a strong susceptibility t o melanoma in the Japanese.