Human leukocyte antigen distribution analysis in North Italian brain Glioma patients : an association with HLA-DRB1*14

Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are widely expressed cell surface molecules that present antigenic peptides to T-lymphocytes and modulate the immune response against inflammatory and malignant disease. Frequently, tumoral cells express antigens that are recognized by the immune system. Ineffective immune response could be the result of defects in antigen presentation in those subjects with peculiar HLA alleles, which, owing to mechanisms that are still unknown, are unable to carry out their function. Only a few studies on glioma and HLA association have been performed to date. The aim of our study was to characterize a group of Italian Caucasian patients with glioma, to investigate a possible association between HLA antigens and cerebral glioma tumorigenesis in Italian patients. HLA typing of class I and class II loci was done by molecular typing performed on blood DNA from 36 glioma patients from northern Italy. The data obtained were compared with HLA frequencies taken from the database of northern Italian organ donors. A positive association between HLA-DRB1*14 and the presence of symptomatic cerebral glioma was observed (p = 0.02, odds ratio = 2.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.09-5.45). This is the first Italian report on a case-control data study of HLA distribution conducted on a group of glioma patients and a first step in defining a possible involvement of HLA in susceptibility to brain glioma in the Italian population