Letter to the Editor

ABO Blood Group and Gastric Cancer: Rekindling an Old Fire?

Authors: Ihab I. El Hajj, MD, MPH, Jana G. Hashash, MD, Elizabeth M. Kfoury Baz, MD, Heitham Abdul-Baki, MD, Ala I. Sharara, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


Numerous reports have pointed to an increased prevalence of blood type A in patients with gastric cancer. Aird et al1 were the first to study ABO blood groups in a large number of patients with gastric cancer, noting an excess of group A, and a deficiency of group O, in comparison with control patients. Subsequently, at least 77 controlled series have been published; in 55 of these, cancer patients had an excess of group A, in 14 a slight predominance of group A, in only 2 a deficiency of group A.2 In a recent study aiming at the study of the association of gastroduodenal disease phenotype with ABO blood group and Helicobacter pylori virulence genes, we noted a higher prevalence of blood group A in patients with gastric malignancy than in a control group of healthy blood donors [47.6% versus 25%, P = 0.037; RR = 2.73 (1.04–7.16; 95% CI)].3 Based on these findings, we conducted a retrospective study to investigate this putative association between ABO blood group and gastric cancer or lymphoma in Lebanon.

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References

1. Aird I, Bentall HH, Roberts JA. A relationship between cancer of stomach and the ABO blood groups. Br Med J 1953;1:799–801.
 
2. McConnell RB. The Genetics of Gastrointestinal Disorders. London, Oxford University Press, 1966, pp 56–60.
 
3. Sharara AI, Abdul-Baki H, ElHajj I, et al. Association of gastroduodenal disease phenotype with ABO blood group and Helicobacter pylori virulence-specific serotypes. Dig Liv Dis 2006;38:829–833.
 
4. Manuila A. Blood groups and disease-hard facts and delusions. J Am Med Assoc 1958;167:2047–2053.