Association between the HLA-B*15:02 allele and carbamazepine-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis in Han individuals of northeastern China

Abstract Background This study examined the significant association between carbamazepine (CBZ)-induced Stevens–Johnson Syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and HLA-B * 15:02 in epilepsy patients of Han ethnicity living in northeastern China. Methods CBZ–SJS/TEN patients and CBZ-tolerant control patients were genotyped for HLA-B * 15:02 by PCR amplification using sequence-specific primers. Patients then were evaluated for HLA genotypes using PCR with sequence-based typing. Results Eight of 35 CBZ–SJS/TEN patients carried HLA-B * 15:02 (22.9%) versus 2 of 125 in CBZ-tolerant control patients (OR = 18.222, 95% CI = 3.662–90.662, p = 0.000). Our results suggest that HLA-B * 15:02 is necessary but is not sufficient to produce SJS/TEN following CBZ treatment among Han individuals from northeastern China. Other HLA alleles, including A * 33:03 , B * 58:01 , C * 03:02 , DQB1 * 03:03 , and DRB1 * 07:01 may be associated weakly with CBZ–SJS/TEN Conclusion Our results are not consistent with previous studies reporting a strong association between HLA-B * 15:02 and CBZ–SJS/TEN among individuals from southern, southwestern, and central China. Other genes may be more tightly associated with CBZ–SJS/TEN. Screening for HLA-B * 15:02 still may be recommended for patients in northeastern China before starting CBZ.