Association analysis between HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma among a Han population in Northwestern China.

BACKGROUND: Most HLA association studies with NPC focus on Southern part of China. Thus, little is known about the genetic association of HLA with NPC in people from Northern China where the genetic background, environmental factors, and lifestyle are very different. METHODS: 132 NPC patients and 168 normal controls of Han ethnic in Xinjiang Province were genotyped for HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 using the PCR-sequence specific primer technique. RESULTS: Our results confirm previous findings that the HLA-B∗46 and HLA-A(∗)02B(∗)46 haplotypes are strongly associated with NPC, but we did not observe HLA-A(∗)11 and -B(∗)35 association with resistance to NPC. Instead, we found that HLA-B(∗)51 and -A(∗)30 are strongly associated with resistance to NPC. In addition, HLA-A(∗)24 was also strongly associated with susceptibility to NPC. CONCLUSION: A unique pattern of HLA association with NPC susceptibility and resistance was found in patients from Xinjiang Province compared to the published data based on patients from Southern China and Taiwan. HLA-B(∗)46 is most significantly associated with NPC, and its frequency in endemic areas such as Guangdong Province, Taiwan, and Thailand is much higher than in Xinjiang Province and other areas with much less NPC occurrence. Interestingly, HLA-A(∗)30 is in contrast with the resistant allele, whose frequency is much lower in endemic areas but higher in Xinjiang and other areas with little NPC