HLA antigens and peptic ulcer disease

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of HLA antigens with chronic duodenal and gastric ulcer. 104 patients with chronic peptic ulcer, 52 with duodenal ulcer, and 52 with gastric ulcer were studied, and HLA antigens of the A, B and DR series were sought using the microlymphocytotoxicity test. In duodenal-ulcer patients, no significant differences were observed. In the gastric-ulcer group, Bw49 was increased in both sexes, with an adjusted odds ratio of 10.2. However, when corrected for the number of comparisons made, this difference failed to reach statistical significance. It is concluded that if HLA antigens make any contribution to the aetiology of ulcer disease, this contribution is small and the proportion of cases of gastric ulcer that can be explained by the presence of HLA antigen Bw49 is less than 10%.