HLA patterns in patients with nasal polyposis.

The etiology of nasal polyposis is still unknown, although risk factors include Aspirin intolerance, asthma, cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia. We studied frequencies of HLA A, B, DR and DQ in patients with nasal polyposis in order to determine a possible genetic component in the multifactorial pathogenesis of nasal polyps. Previous work has suggested an association of HLA-A1B8 with nasal polyposis and Aspirin intolerance. We investigated 89 patients with nasal polyposis, 11 of whom had Aspirin-intolerance, 19 asthma and 22 allergies to inhalation allergens. HLA patterns of these patients were compared to the ones of 1,070 healthy controls. No significant association of HLA-A1B8 was found with nasal polyps in the Aspirin-sensitive subgroup of our patients, but a significant association was seen with HLA-A74 and nasal polyposis.