Association between the HLA DQB1*0301 gene and human papillomavirus infection in high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

This study describes the distribution of DQB1 genes in Norwegian women trea ted for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Formalin-fixed , paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 170 biopsy specimens with diagnose s of CIN II (n = 54) or CIN III (n = 116) were DQB I-typed using allele-spe cific polymerase chain reaction. The follow-up period for cases was 13 to 1 5 years. The control material comprised blood samples and endocervical brus hes from 213 women without GIN. Both cases and controls had previously been human papillomavirus (HPV)-typed. The DQB1*0301 allele was overrepresented among cases compared with controls (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8). Presence of CI N was related to HPV infection, and HPV 16 positivity was significantly ass ociated with the presence of DQB1*0301 (OR 1.8). The DQB1*0301 allele was s ignificantly more prevalent in CIN III than in CIN II cases. The lesions in two women recurred in the follow-up period, one of whom was carrying the D QB1*0301 allele. Women carrying the HLA-DQB1*0301 allele have an increased risk of developing CIN when infected by HPV 16, although there was not an i ncreased frequency of recurrent disease among women carrying this allele.