HLA association with leukemia: A review of the literature

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and its association with diseases have been studied extensively for many decades, with the prime focus on the underlying mechanism(s) involved in various diseases including ankylosing spondylitis (AS), insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), leukemia, HIV, multiple sclerosis, etc. Alarming number of leukemia cases are being reported annually and a large number of HLA associations with leukemia susceptibility studies have been reported globally, but to the best of our knowledge, no such information has been published in the form of a review, thus encouraging us to write this review. Here, we have summarized the published literature on HLA association with leukemia. This will not only unravel the importance of HLA polymorphism in leukemia diagnosis and pathogenesis but also in development of it as a genetic marker for disease susceptibility.