title: Risk of haematological malignancies in HLA-B27 carriers.
abstract: Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 carriers are predisposed to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Among 1137 patients with haematological diseases, 59 HLA-B27 carriers were identified. Compared with 18 774 volunteers, the incidence of HLA-B27 was increased in patients with acute leukaemia (relative risk RR = 1.67, P = 0.002), for both acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (RR) = 1.67, P = 0.007) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (RR = 1.68, P = 0.094). Of all the HLA-B27 carriers, four patients had ankylosing spondylitis (AS), all with lymphoid malignancies (three ALL, one Hodgkin's disease), whereas no HLA-B27 carriers with myeloid leukaemia had AS symptoms (P = 0.006). This suggests that HLA-B27 carriers may have an increased risk of acute leukaemia and those with concomitant AS may be predisposed to lymphoid malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. auwing@hotmail.com
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Au
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lie
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Kwong
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen