Lack of association between HLA-DR2 and clinical response to methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Recent studies have indicated an association between the HLA-DR2 phenotype and substantial response to methrotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To further resolve this issue, we analyzed this relationship. Our data, obtained from a multicenter, double-blind study of rigorously assessed patients with RA, demonstrated that neither HLA-DR2 nor any other HLA-DR specificity is significantly associated with a substantial clinical response to methotrexate in patients with RA.