Familial Hodgkin's disease and the major histocompatibility complex

Two sisters who developed nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's disease (H.D., N.S.) within 3 months of their 25th birthdays were HLA and MLC identical. All family members possessed the HLA-B7 antigen. The propositi, a third HLA/MLC identical sister, and the mother, shared the maternal B7 and lacked Dw2. The father and a fourth sibling with the paternal B7 were heterozygous for Dw2. In six unrelated patients with H.D., N.S., the presence of B7 and Dw2 correlated precisely. In 69 consecutive patients with H.D., N.S., the frequencies of 23 HLA antigens did not differ significantly from the frequencies in 245 control subjects.