On the Mechanism behind the Association between ABO Blood Groups and Gastric Carcinoma

Abstract

It has been hypothesized that the mechanisms behind the association between blood group A and gastric carcinoma is that the carcinoma cells produce an antigen immunologically related to blood group A, which particularly in O-individuals may have a protective effect by preventing the growth and spread of the tumour. The hypothesis predicts that O-individuals would have a longer survival time than A-individuals and that eventually the protective effect in blood group·would be somewhat stronger in women with multiple pregnancies. The results showed a significantly lower frequency of blood group·in females and a tendency towards a longer survival time in O-individuals among gastric cancer patients, but the relationship between blood group·and number of children was not in the expected direction. Thus the observations gave only partial support for the hypothesis that the associaton betwen ABO blood groups and gastric carcinoma is dependent on the antigenicity of the neoplasm. The data showed a significantly higher prevalence of gastric carcinoma and a lower average survival time in male patients.

ABO blood groups and oral premalignancies: A clinical study in selected Indian population

“…The homotypic and heterotypic cell adhesion mediated by interactions of certain blood group carbohydrates with corresponding lectins is a critically important event at the extravasation step of the metastatic cascade when metastatic cancer cells escape from circulation into distant sites of secondary tumor growth. [22] In our study the frequency of blood group "A" was predominant in both leukoplakia and OSMF group.…”

Higher frequency of secretor phenotype in O blood group – its benefits in prevention and/or treatment of some diseases

“…29 Blood group O also appears to exert a protective effect by preventing the growth and spread of tumors and being associated with longer survival times in cancer patients. 30 The following will correlate our finding to, and might explain, the above finding. Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF), which was discovered in the late 1920s, 31 is the core disaccharide structure of ABO blood group (H) substance.…”

ABO blood group and nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk in a population of Southeast China

“…In this study, we also observed that the rate of distant metastasis was significantly higher in male patients with blood type A than those with other blood types. Previous studies also found that blood type O appears to prevent the growth and spread of tumors. The ABO blood group is determined by the expression of A and B antigens on the surface of red blood cells and anti‐A and anti‐B antibodies in the serum.…”