title: Analysis of serum ErbB-2 protein and HLA-DRB1 in Japanese patients with lung cancer.
abstract: We investigated the relationship between ErbB-2 and HLA in order to clarify the clinical and genetic factors related to Japanese patients with lung cancer. Thirty-nine of the 73 lung cancer patients (53.4%) had elevated levels of ErbB-2. Only seven of 23 (30. 4%) patients with small cell carcinoma had elevated ErbB-2 levels. The prevalence of ErbB-2 positivity was highest (23 of 32; 71.8%) in patients with adenocarcinoma, while that in patients with squamous cell carcinoma was 50% (9 of 18). The frequencies of HLA A33, B44, B62, and B75 were lower in the lung cancer patients than in the control group. HLA-DR9 was higher in frequency in lung cancer patients than in the healthy controls (P<0.05), but HLA-DR6 was lower in frequency in lung cancer patients than in controls (P<0.01). DRB1*0901 was significantly higher in frequency in lung cancer patients than in controls (P<0.05). On the other hand, DRB1*0802, DRB1*1302 and the DRB1*14 group (*1401, *1403, *1405, *1406, and *1407) were completely absent in lung cancer patients. The frequencies of HLA B35, B52, B62, DRB1*0404, and DRB1*0406 were higher in the ErbB-2-positive lung cancer patients than in the ErbB-2-negative lung cancer patients. However, these types of HLA were not included in significant frequencies in our group of lung cancers. Our results suggest that some HLA-antigens/alleles participate in the pathogenesis of lung cancer in Japanese patients. In addition, the relationship between HLA-associated genetic factors and ErbB-2 seems to be weak. These findings suggest that ErbB-2 is correlated with prognostic factors for lung cancer independently of HLA-associated genetic factors.
authors.affiliation: The First Department of Internal Medicine, Kansai Medical University, 10-15 Fumizonocho, Moriguchi, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamaoka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohtani
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuzakiz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuharal
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases