Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a widely used and effective therapy for hematopoietic malignant diseases and numerous other disorders. High-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype frequency distributions not only facilitate individual donor searches but also determine the probability with which a particular patient can find HLA-matched donors in a registry. The frequencies of the HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 alleles and haplotypes were estimated among 169,995 Chinese volunteers using the sequencing-based typing (SBT) method. Totals of 191 HLA-A, 244 HLA-B, 146 HLA-C, 143 HLA-DRB1 and 47 HLA-DQB1 alleles were observed, which accounted for 6.98%, 7.06%, 6.46%, 9.11% and 7.91%, respectively, of the alleles in each locus in the world (IMGT 3.16 Release, Apr. 2014). Among the 100 most common haplotypes from the 169,995 individuals, nine distinct haplotypes displayed significant regionally specific distributions. Among these, three were predominant in the South China region (i.e., the 20th, 31st, and 81sthaplotypes), another three were predominant in the Southwest China region (i.e., the 68th, 79th, and 95th haplotypes), one was predominant in the South and Southwest China regions (the 18th haplotype), one was relatively common in the Northeast and North China regions (the 94th haplotype), and one was common in the Northeast, North and Northwest China (the 40th haplotype). In conclusion, this is the first to analyze high-resolution HLA diversities across the entire country of China, based on a detailed and complete data set that covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Specifically, we also evaluated the HLA matching probabilities within and between geographic regions and analyzed the regional differences in the HLA diversities in China. We believe that the data presented in this study might be useful for unrelated HLA-matched donor searches, donor registry planning, population genetic studies, and anthropogenesis studies.

Corticosteroid therapy and delayed NAI treatment were associated with prolonged A(H7N9) RNA shedding. NAI combination therapy and double-dose oseltamivir treatment were not associated with a reduced A(H7N9) shedding duration as compared to standard-dose oseltamivir.

The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics HLA common and well‐documented (CWD) catalog, CWD 2.0.0 catalog and European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI) CWD catalog have been published, which are useful for improving the accuracy of HLA genotyping in laboratories. Here, we studied the Chinese HLA CWD catalog. A total of 812 211 unrelated volunteer donors from the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) were analyzed. Six hundred seventy‐six alleles at the HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, ‐DRB1, and ‐DQB1 loci were defined as CWD alleles in the Chinese population, including 159 common and 517 well‐documented alleles. The distribution of HLA alleles in the Chinese CWD catalog is different from that in the EFI CWD catalog. Thirty‐two percent (215/676) of CWD alleles in the Chinese CWD catalog are shared with those in the EFI CWD catalog. Fifty‐six percent (380/676) of alleles in the Chinese CWD catalog are not found in the EFI CWD catalog, while 655 alleles in the EFI CWD catalog are neither common nor well‐documented alleles in the Chinese CWD catalog. The Chinese CWD catalog described in this study may help to improve high‐resolution histocompatibility testing for CMDP‐accredited laboratories in China. However, to accommodate an increasing number of HLA alleles, this Chinese CWD catalog should be regularly updated.

BackgroundInflammatory response markers have been proposed to predict the clinical outcomes in various cancers. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on the prognosis of osteosarcoma.MethodsThree hundred fifty-nine patients who underwent curative surgery for osteosarcoma were enrolled from 2005 to 2010. NLR and PLR were calculated from peripheral blood cell counts taken at pre-treatment. Optimal cutoff values of NLR and PLR were determined on the basis of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. A predictive model was established to predict the clinical outcome for overall survival, and the predictive accuracy of this model was determined by concordance index (c-index).ResultsOur results showed that advanced stage and metastasis at diagnosis were significantly associated with the high NLR and PLR groups. NLR was an independent prognostic indicator for overall survival (HR = 1.80, 95 % CI = 1.35–2.41, P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (HR = 1.65, 95 % CI = 1.26–2.15, P < 0.001), except for PLR. The nomogram could perform well in the prediction of overall survival in patients with osteosarcoma (c-index 0.829).ConclusionsOur results suggest that both NLR and PLR can reflect clinical prognosis. NLR is more predictive of overall survival and progression-free survival than PLR.