Abstract
To examine whether HLA status is one of the genetic factors influencing the incidence of gastric cancer, we determined HLA-DPB1 and -DRB1 types in 186 Japanese gastric cancer patients by DNA typing. It was found that DPB1*0901 was significantly more common in the patients than in a control group (relative risk=1.86, P<0.003, corrected P<0.05). DRB1*1502 was also more common in the patients than in the controls (relative risk=1.72, P<0.006), but the corrected P value (<0.15) indicated no statistical significance. When DPB1*0901 and DRB1*1502 were investigated as the DPB1*0901-DRB1*1502 haplotype, it was also found to be significantly more common in the cancer patients than in the controls (P<0.003).
These results suggest that the DPB1*0901-DRB1*1502 haplotype-related gene is associated with a high incidence of gastric cancer in the Japanese population.
