Association between HLA antigens and bladder tumors

Possible correlation between polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor-beta gene and the clinicopathological features of bladder cancer in Japanese patients

OBJECTIVES

In a variety of cancers, several polymorphisms of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) genes have been reported to result in different clinical outcomes. We investigated whether a polymorphism of the TNF gene is associated with a susceptibility to bladder cancer and its disease status.

METHODS

Polymorphisms in the TNF-alpha gene promoter (-308 bp) and the NcoI site in the first intron of the TNF-beta gene were analyzed in 141 Japanese patients with bladder cancer and 173 Japanese controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The correlations between the polymorphisms of the TNF genes and the clinicopathological features were analyzed.

RESULTS

The number of cases and controls with TNF-alpha2 was too small to be assessable. In contrast, the TNF-beta1/2 genotype at the NcoI site in the first intron conferred a 1.71-fold increased risk of bladder cancer compared to the TNF-beta2/2 genotype. In the bladder cancer group, patients with the TNF-beta1 allele had a significantly higher risk for a high-grade tumor (grade 3) or carcinoma in situ (CIS) than those without the TNF-beta1 allele. Moreover, in the superficial bladder cancers, patients with the TNF-beta1 allele showed a significantly higher intravesical recurrence rate than those without the TNF-beta1 allele.

CONCLUSION

This polymorphism in the TNF-beta gene appears to be associated with tumor occurrence and disease status, such as the tumor grade and the presence of CIS. Further study with an increased sample size is warranted.

Association between Hla-Class Ii Antigens and Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder

A possible association between transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and HLA-class II antigens (HLA-DR and HLA-DQ) in a group of patients with TCC were investigated. DR2, DR4 and DQw3 with allelic frequencies of 33.3%, 53.3% and 50% respectively were the most common antigens expressed in patients. In the control group the highest frequencies belonged to DR2, DR4 and DQw2 antigens. We found a significant difference in the frequency of HLA-DQw3 between patient and control groups. No significant differences were found at DR loci.