Rhesus Haplotypes in Familial Hodgkin's Disease

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Abstract
Previous reports of increased numbers of rhesus‐negative individuals in series of Hodgkin's disease (HD) patients have received a unique type of confirmation. In an extended family of over 1,200 people in which an aggregate of 7 cases of HD has occurred, there were twice the usual number of rhesus‐negative individuals. Thus, these HD patients also arose in a population containing an excess of rhesus negatives. Detailed analysis of rhesus antigens and haplotypes with the aid of five antisera and blood samples from 1,133 community members revealed that the patients and their families carried R1 and r but that there was exclusion from those groups of Ro and ra. Ra may have been excluded from the patients but was found in members of their immediate families. No other haplotypes were identified. The differences between HD families and members of the remainder of the extended family are statistically significant (p < 0.0005). The data are consistent with two interpretations which are not mutually exclusive. First, certain rhesus complexes, notably r, may confer susceptibility to the development of HD, probably by virtue of a closely linked gene, conversely other complexes such as Ro may confer resistance. The second interpretation is that the postulated HD agent may flourish better in populations of certain rhesus make‐up than it does in others. Individuals of a particular rhesus genotype may be ‘carriers’ or ‘spreaders’. Further investigations are suggested which should contribute to the solution of this epidemiological puzzle.