Cancer and ABO Blood Group

Cancer is a general term for a group of over 100 diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. All organs of the body are made up of cells capable of normal division to produce more cells when the body needs them. If cells divide when new ones aren't needed, they form a mass of excess tissue called a tumor. Tumors can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

BLOOD TYPE AND CANCER

Although there are probably over a thousand publications on the associations of blood groups and disease, many are based totally on statistical analyses. Most of the earlier studies have been controversial, because they were small studies and/or had inadequate controls and/or had been analyzed incorrectly. Nevertheless, it is difficult to argue with the general pattern that emerges from the large body of statistical data on malignancy, coagulation and infection. Some of the findings on microbe receptors, and the association with important immune proteins are most convincing and suggest that blood group antigens do play an important biological role: A role that is often completely unrelated to the red blood cell. It can be said at the outset, that cancers in genral tend to be associated with group A, and slightly less strongly with group B. With that, let's look at some trends among selected cancers with regard to blood type.

BREAST CANCER 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. And while the mortality rates are falling slightly for some sub-populations of women, it is still a potentially lethal adversary. Standard treatment can vary but procedures such as lumpectomy surgery (removal of the tumor and some surrounding tissue), mastectomy (removal of the whole breast), chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone-blocking therapy are the norm with any combination of the above strategies potentially employed. Mammograms have been a major push within medicine as a means of early detection; however, many of my patients have actually discovered there tumors on self-examination of breast tissue, so I cannot overemphasize this self-help procedure (especially for A's and AB's as we will see). While many risk factors are associated with the development of breast cancer, it is seldom mentioned that blood type has an influence on susceptibility and outcomes. In fact, some researchers have even gone so far as to say that "blood groups were shown to possess a predictive value independent of other known prognostic factors" when discussing breast cancer. Other researchers have actually suggested that a degree of the susceptibility to breast cancer, from a gene perspective, might be a result of a breast cancer-susceptibility locus linked to the ABO locus located on band q34 of chromosome 9. 

Costantini M, Fassio T, Canobbio L, et al. Role of blood groups as prognostic factors in primary breast cancer. Oncology 1990;47(4):308-12 

Skolnick MH, Thompson EA, Bishop DT, Cannon LA. Possible linkage of a breast cancer-susceptibility locus to the ABO locus: sensitivity of LOD scores to a single new recombinant observation. Genet Epidemiol 1984;1(4):363-73

My observation has been that blood type A women have a generalized tendency to worse outcomes and a more rapid progression with this cancer. Research indicates that blood type A women are over-represented among breast cancer patients, and that this trend occurs even among women thought to be at low risk for cancer. One of the most significant risk factors for a rapidly progressing breast cancer is also blood type A, and blood type A women have been observed to have poorer outcomes once they are diagnosed with breast cancer. In complete opposition to these blood type A tendencies, we find blood typee O. Blood type O infers a slight degree of resistance against breast cancer, and even among patients, blood type 0 showed a significantly lower risk of death. Type AB's fall nearer to A's, having a slight increase in susceptibility and a more dramatic trend towards recurrence and shorter survival times. Blood type B generally acts a bit more like blood type O, imparting a degree of reduced susceptibility or reduced risk. This is particularly evident among women who do not have a family history of breast cancer. However, there are two areas to consider if you are a blood type B woman. If you have had a family member with breast cancer, the protection normally associated with being a B women goes out the window, and you need to be more aware of the possibility of breast cancer. Also, if you are a B women and currently have or have had breast cancer, statistically speaking, your odds of a recurrence of breast cancer tend to be higher. Part of the reason for this is that you tend to survive the original cancer, but nevertheless, you might want to consider some of the long-term immune building and anti-cancer strategies we will discuss.

Mourali N, Muenz LR, Tabbane F, et al. Epidemiologic features of rapidly progressing breast cancer in Tunisia. Cancer 1980;46:2741-6
Rosen PP, Schwartz MK, Menedez-Botet CJ. Blood groups and response to therapy for mammary cancer. Am J Clin Pathol 1977;67:504-5 [Letter]
Anderson DE, Haas C. Blood type A and familial breast cancer. Cancer 1984 Nov 14(9):1845-1849
Costantini M, Fassio T, Canobbio L, et al. Role of blood groups as prognostic factors in primary breast cancer. Oncology 1990;47(4):308-12
Tryggvadottir L, Tulinius H, Robertson JM. Familial and sporadic breast cancer cases in Iceland: a comparison related to ABO blood groups and risk of bilateral breast cancer. Int J Cancer 1988 Oct 15;42(4):499-501
Horn PL, Thompson WD. Risk of contralateral breast cancer. Associations with histological, clinical, and therapeutic factors. Cancer 1988;62:412-24.
Holdsworth PJ, Thorogood J, Benson EA, Clayden AD. Blood group as a prognostic indicator in breast cancer. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 2;290(6469):671-3

Breast cancer shows a weaker association with being a non-secretor.

Article courtesy of Dr. Peter D’ Adamo

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