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We read with interest the article by Furukawa et al1 suggesting an association between HLA-A 31:01 and methotrexate (MTX)-induced interstitial lung disease (ILD) in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MTX-ILD or MTX-pneumonitis (MTX-P) is an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction to MTX that usually occurs within the first year of MTX therapy, inducing inflammation, cytokine release and the activation of CD4+ T-lymphocytes within the lung parenchyma,2–4 with a reported prevalence of 1% of the Caucasian RA population prescribed MTX.5
To investigate this association further, we conducted a genome-wide association study. Rheumatologists working within the National Health Service in the UK identified Caucasian patients …
Footnotes
Contributors JB recruited patients, NHS sites, co-conducted the GWAS and analysis.
S-AO applied to the ethics committee, recruited patients and NHS sites.
JM co-conducted the GWAS and analysis.
AA co-genotyped the HLA 31:01.
MP co-wrote the article.
SMMV is PI of the control cohort.
AB is the PI of the cases cohort.
Competing interests None declared.
Ethics approval National Research Ethics Service, NRES Comittee North West, Greater Manchester Central.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.