It should be noted that the presence of strong CD22, which is an indicator for atypical forms, is associated with alleles (HLA-B*49:01:01, HLA-C*07:01:01 and HLA-DPB1*02:01: 01) generally found in other malignancies, suggesting that this association may be representative for patients with atypical CLL. The gene discussed is HLA-C; the disease is B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.