Prolonged disease-free survival in bronchogenic carcinoma associated with HLA-Aw19 and HLA-B5. A two-year prospective study.

Seventy patients with squamous carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the lung were HLA typed at the time of their diagnosis and initial therapy. No abnormal HLA antigen frequencies were found. However, the possession of HLA-Aw19 or HLA-B5 was significantly correlated with two year disease-free survival. Twelve of 21 patients (57%) with either Aw 19 or B5 were disease-free at two years. In contrast, only six of 48 patients (13%) not having either antigen were disease-free (p less than .001). One patient was lost to follow-up. It is possible that Aw 19 and/or B5 confer resistance to progression of bronchogenic carcinoma on their possessors.