Immunogenetic heterogeneity of uveal melanoma.

Investigations have been performed to identify genetic markers in uveal melanoma (UM) patients. The immunogenetic heterogeneity of the histologically different forms of UM until now has been little analyzed. We subdivided our UM patients, all typed for class I and II HLA antigens and for Bf polymorphism, into two groups: 1) those with a high degree of malignancy (with nonspindle cells) and 2) those with a low degree of malignancy (with spindle cells). The deviated frequencies of class I HLA antigens (A32, B27) seem to be involved in the predisposition to spindle cell melanoma, while HLA class II (DR3, DR7) and class III (Bf F) strongly mark the worst form of UM. Different Gm allotype distributions between the two histological types of UM were also found.