In summary, our data demonstrate that a high HLA-E expression, induced by the high-expressing HLA-E*0103/0103 variant is not only associated with an increased risk for EBV+HL and EBV+nHL, but also with an efficient inhibition of NKG2A+ NK cells and an increased proliferation of EBV-infected tumour cells. Here, HLA-E is linked to neoplasm.