title: Lack of association between human leukocyte antigen-E alleles and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Tunisians.
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a cancer with a remarkable geographical and worldwide ethnic distribution, has been strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I genes. The presence of additional HLA risk factors has been suggested by several reports. In the present study, we analyzed the implication of HLA-E gene polymorphisms in NPC susceptibility in Tunisians, a population characterized by an intermediate incidence of NPC with specific clinical features. Peripheral blood DNA was obtained from 185 patients with NPC and 177 matched controls. Genotyping for three single-nucleotide polymorphisms, codon 83Gly/Arg, codon 157Arg/Gly, and codon 107Arg/Gly, was performed using the polymerase chain reaction method. The HLA-E*01:01 and HLA-E*01:03 were the only alleles found among Tunisians. The HLA-E*01:03 allele had a slight increase in patients with NPC (43%) compared with controls (37%), but the difference did not reach a statistical significance. Our results show the lack of association between HLA-E alleles and NPC in the Tunisian population. This is not in agreement with the previous studies, suggesting a potential implication of HLA-E gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to NPC among populations with high-risk incidence. Our study further supports the dissimilarity of NPC between populations with different NPC incidence.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Immuno-Oncology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Monastir University, Monastir, Tunisia. elham.hassen@isbm.rnu.tn
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hassen
authors.forename: Randa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghedira
authors.forename: Nahla
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghandri
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.forename: Sallouha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabbouj
authors.forename: Noureddine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouaouina
authors.forename: Hamdi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdelaziz
authors.forename: Abdelatif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nouri
authors.forename: Lotfi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chouchane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014416:Tunisia / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult; D000097625:HLA-E Antigens
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000097625:HLA-E Antigens