Predictive markers for carbamazepine and lamotrigine-induced maculopapular exanthema in Han Chinese

The aims of this study were to clarify the possible associations of carbamazepine (CBZ)- and lamotrigine (LTG)-induced maculopapular exanthema (MPE) with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in Chinese patients. A total of 249 subjects, including 40 patients with CBZ-induced MPE (CBZ-MPE), 43 patients with LTG-induced MPE (LTG-MPE), 52 CBZ-tolerant controls, 42 LTG-tolerant controls and 72 healthy controls, were included in this study. High-resolution HLA genotyping was performed by a specific kit. Differences in the allele frequencies among the groups were assessed. The allele frequencies of HLA-A*0201 and HLA-DRB1*1405 were significantly higher (P=0.033 and P=0.003, respectively), but those of HLA-B*5801 and HLA-DRB1*0301 (P=0.037 and P=0.024, respectively) were lower in the CBZ-MPE patients when compared with the CBZ-tolerant group. We also observed two significantly increased alleles of HLA-A*3001 and HLA-B*1302 (P=0.013 and P=0.013, respectively) and a decreased allele of HLA-A*3303 (P=0.048) in the LTG-MPE patients when compared with those in the LTG-tolerant group. Our results support the hypothesis that these HLA alleles contribute to the genetic susceptibility to CBZ/LTG-MPE and may be valuable as potential biomarkers for CBZ/LTG-MPE in Han Chinese.