A Multicenter Analysis of the Significance of HLA Matching on Outcomes After Kidney-Pancreas Transplantation

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of HLA matching on outcomes in simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant (SKPT) recipients in a multicenter trial. From March 1999 to May 2001, a total of 297 SKPT recipients were enrolled in a prospective randomized trial of 2 daclizumab dosing strategies versus no antibody induction in combination with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids in SKPT recipients. Subanalyses using both univariate and multivariate models were performed at 1 year to identify factors associated with acute rejection, graft loss, or death. Potential risk factors evaluated were treatment group, African American ethnicity, HLA-A mismatches (MM), HLA-B MM, HLA-DR MM, total HLA MM, surgical technique, cytomegalovirus status of donor and recipient, and delayed graft function (DGF). Univariate analyses revealed that treatment group, HLA-A MM, HLA-B MM, total HLA MM >3, and DGF were significantly associated with acute rejection. These variables were then entered into logistic and Cox regression analyses. HLA-A MM and DGF were the only variables that remained significantly associated with acute rejection in the multivariate model. The relative risk for acute rejection in recipients with HLA-A MM was 1.56 (P = .02). In conclusion, despite contemporary immunosuppression, the degree of HLA MM, particularly HLA-A, and DGF are associated with an increased risk for acute rejection in SKPT recipients at 1 year. Less rejection was noted in patients with 0 MM at all 3 HLA loci and in patients with total HLA-MM <3. However, none of these factors affected short-term patient or graft survival rates.