Molecular genetic analysis of HLA class II alleles in Japanese patients with melanoma

Distribution of HLA-DQA, -DQB and -DPB alleles in ninety-six Japanese patients with melanoma was analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method, and the association between clinical parameters and the presence of certain HLA class II alleles investigated. The frequency of HLA-DQB1*0302 was increased, while those of DQA1*0101(04), -DQA1*0401 and DRB1*0802 were decreased in melanoma patients compared with controls. Moreover, the frequency of HLA-DQA1*0103 in patients with acral lentiginous melanoma was increased compared with controls. However, none of these HLA class II alleles showed significant positive or negative associations after correction of the P value. In addition, there was no correlation between these antigens and clinical parameters. These results indicate that HLA class II alleles may not contribute to a strong susceptibility to melanoma in the Japanese.