In contrast, positivity of at least one HLA-DR1 and/or HLA-DR4 allele was found to be associated with early progression of joint damage in RA patients (P = 0.0012), as previously described [24], whereas their concomitant presence with TNFRII 196R allele was not (P = 0.802). Here, TNFRSF1B is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.