Strong association between an HLA-DR antigen and thyroid carcinoma

Abstract
A group of 20 patients affected with thyroid carcinoma, all from Southern Italy, was typed for HLA-A,-B,-C and -DR antigens. Sixteen of them (80%) typed for DR1, while in the control group (120 unrelated healthy individuals from the same region) only 22 (18.3%) shared the same antigen (x22 = 32.96). The data indicate a highly significant association between the HLA-DR1 gene and the thyroid carcinoma.