Objective: To investigate the polymorphism of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles among young women with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and elucidate its relationship with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 infection.
Methods: From January 2005 to August 2009, 166 women diagnosed with cervical SCC at our hospital were enrolled. These patients were divided into two groups based on age, including 59 cases in young age group (≤ 35 yrs) and 107 cases in non-young age group. In the mean time, 50 cases with uterine myoma treated by hysterectomy were selected as controls. HPV 16 DNA in cervical tissues was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 typing were carried out by PCR-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) and the allele frequencies calculated.
Results: (1) The allele frequency of HLA DQB1*0301 at 29.6% was detected among HPV 16 positive cervical SCC cases in young age group. And it was significantly higher than 12.9% of non-young age group (P < 0.05). The allele frequencies of HLA-DRB1*04 and -DRB1*09 were significantly higher among HPV 16 negative cervical SCC cases in young age group as compared with non-young age group (14.1%, 26.6% vs 5.9%, 10.5%) (P < 0.05). The HLA-DRB1*07 allele was not detected among HPV 16 negative cervical SCC cases in young age group, But 14 cases (9.2%) were detected in non-young age group (P < 0.05). (2) The allele frequencies of HLA-DQB1*0501 at 7.4% and 6.3% respectively were detected among HPV 16 positive and negative cervical SCC cases in the young age group. And they were significantly lower than 25.8% and 20.4% of non-young age group (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The distribution patterns of HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles among young women with cervical SCC are different from those of older ones. And it has something to do with the HPV 16 infection status.