HLA-A1, B8, DRw3 in patients with a distinct form of lupus erythematosus.

Subacute cutaneous LE was identified by the presence of widespread nonscarring skin lesions with histologic features of LE. The HLA antigens A1,B8,DRw3 were increased in patients with this condition. The frequency of DRw3 in this group was 77% compared to 24% in controls (p less than 0.001). The relative risk with HLA-DRw3 for the subacute cutaneous LE group was 10.8 (p less than 0.001). HLA-A1,B8 antigens were not increased in discoid LE or in the systemic LE group. The results illustrate the value of identifying homogeneous groups of patients for finding meaningful HLA associations.