Are HLA antigens important in the development of alcohol-induced liver disease?

The prevalences of 10 HLA-A and 16 HLA-B antigens were determined in 50 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 120 alcoholic patients without cirrhosis and compared with those in a control group of 550 healthy subjects from the same geographical area. B40 was absent in the patients with cirrhosis but was found in 18 (15%) of the patients without cirrhosis (p = 0.0087). No other association was noted. It is concluded that there is no good evidence to date of an association between HLA antigen state and susceptibility to alcohol-induced cirrhosis.