Association between the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore whether the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism confers susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism and autoimmune diseases using: 1) allele contrast, and 2) the recessive, 3) dominant and 4) additive models. RESULTS: Ten articles that included 17 comparative studies on a total of 8900 patients and 10,295 controls were included in the meta-analysis. These studies were performed on seven European, five Asian and five South American sample populations. Meta-analysis of all study subjects revealed an association between the CD226 rs763361 T allele and the susceptibility to autoimmune diseases (odds ratio; OR 1.162, 95% confidence interval; CI 1.097-1.230, p < 1.0 × 10(-8)). Stratification by ethnicity indicated an association between the CD226 rs763361 T allele and autoimmune disease in Europeans and South Americans (OR 1.134, 95% CI 1.079-1.191, p = 6.7 × 10(-7); OR 1.308, 95% CI 1.160-1.475, p = 1.1 × 10(-5)) and between the CD226 rs763361 TT genotype and autoimmune disease in Asians (OR 1.366, 95% CI 1.130-1.650, p = 0.001). Disease-specific meta-analysis showed an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the CD226 rs763361 T allele (OR 1.150, 95% CI 1.040-1.271, p = 0.006), but no association between rheumatoid arthritis and the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism (OR for the T allele 1.207, 95% CI 0.913-1.596, p = 0.187). On the other hand, associations were found between the CD226 rs763361 T allele and systemic sclerosis (SSc) and type 1 diabetes (T1D) (OR 1.126, 95% CI 1.020-1.244, p = 0.019; OR 1.353, 95% CI 1.102-1.660, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrates the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism confers susceptibility to autoimmune disease in Europeans, South Americans and Asians, and in particular, shows that the CD226 rs763361 polymorphism is associated with SLE, SSc and T1D. These results support the existence of an association between the CD226 gene and a subgroup of autoimmune diseases.

Long-term survival after surgery for stage III-IV maxillary sinus carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: How to optimally treat maxillary sinus carcinoma is subject to debate. This study assessed how clinical features and treatment modalities corresponded with long-term survival. METHODS: Sixty-five patients at our institution were diagnosed with maxillary sinus carcinoma from 1982 to 2003. The median follow-up time was 92.9 months. We evaluated the prognostic value of age, gender, symptoms at presentation, histological classification, tumour stage, and treatment modality with regard to overall survival. RESULTS: The five-year survival rate was 52%. Age (p = 0.03), TNM stage (p = 0.04), T classification (p = 0.04), nodal involvement (p = 0.03), and surgery (p = 0.04) were significant prognostic factors for overall survival. There was a significant difference in the overall survival rate and months of survival between patients who underwent surgery and those who had nonsurgical treatment (p = 0.04). In patients with T3 disease, patients who received en bloc surgery had a higher overall survival than patients who received piecemeal surgery (p = 0.045). Multivariate analysis revealed that T classification was the most powerful prognostic factor for overall survival (p = 0.026), followed by nodal involvement (p = 0.036). Surgery was a marginally significant prognostic factor (p = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: Although multivariate analysis showed that T classification and nodal involvement corresponded more with survival than did surgery, we conclude that adequate surgical removal should be an integral component of multimodal treatment.

Association between the HLA-DRB1 gene and clinical features of systemic sclerosis in Korea.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether HLA-DR alleles are associated with the development and clinical features of systemic sclerosis (SSc) in Koreans. METHODS: Seventy-nine patients (74 women and five men; 45 diffuse types and 34 limited types; mean age at diagnosis 43.9 years) fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SSc were enrolled. The controls were 144 healthy, disease-free Koreans. HLA-DRB1 genotypes were assessed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP) method. RESULTS: The HLA-DRB1*15 allele was increased in anti-topoisomerase I autoantibody (anti-topo I)-positive SSc patients [p = 0.003, p corrected (p(corr)) = 0.039, odds ratio (OR) = 3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45-8.13] compared with controls. The DRB1*11 allele was also observed more frequently in anti-topo I-positive SSc than in controls (13.3% vs. 4.2%) but not statistically significant (p = 0.053, p(corr) = 0.689). In patients with SSc, the DRB1*04 allele was associated with subcutaneous calcinosis (p = 0.048, OR = 4.56, 95% CI 1.07-19.37). Patients with overlap syndrome showed a negative association with the DRB1*04 allele (p = 0.036, OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.08-0.91). CONCLUSION: The HLA-DRB1*15 allele was associated with the development of anti-topo I-positive SSc in Koreans. In addition, the DRB1*04 allele was associated with certain clinical features in SSc patients.