Unlike results from Meletiadis' study, no association among FCGR2A 131H/R, FCGR3A 158F/V, FCGR3B NA2/NA2 and cryptococcal meningitis was found in our study. The cause for discrepant results may be multifactorial. One was the ethnic differences between the two studies. Subjects in our study were of Chinese Han ethnicity, while the majority of subjects in Meletiadis' study were Caucasians (60%). As a matter of fact, the FCGR3A 158V allele was significantly increased only in patients who were Caucasian in Meletiadis' study. Secondly, all the cases in our study were diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis, while some patients from Meletiadis' study were cryptococcosis without central nervous system involvement. Furthermore, both studies had relatively small sample sizes, which could be underpowered to generate positive results.