title: Lack of any association between blood groups and lung cancer, independent of histology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths, is divided into 2 main classes based on its biology, therapy and prognosis: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Many cases are at an advanced stage at diagnosis, which is a major obstacle to improving outcomes. It is important to define the high risk group patients for early diagnosis and chance of cure. Blood group antigens are chemical components on erythrocyte membranes but they are also expressed on a variety of epithelial cells. Links between ABO blood groups with benign or malignant diseases, such as gastric and pancreas cancers, have been observed for a long time. In this study, we aimed to investigate any possible relationship between lung cancer histological subtypes and ABO-Rh blood groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The files of 307 pathologically confirmed lung cancer patients were were reviewed retrospectively. Cases with a serologically determined blood group and Rh factor were included and those with a history of another primary cancer were excluded, leaving a total of 221. The distribution of blood groups of the lung cancer patients were compared with the distribution of blood groups of healthy donors admitted to the Turkish Red Crescent Blood Service in our city in the year 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference between patients with lung cancer of either type and the control group in terms of distribution of ABO blood groups and Rh factor (p: 0.073). There was also no relationship with non small cell cancer histological subtypes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we found no relationship between the ABO-Rhesus blood groups and NSCLC and SCLC groups. To our knowledge this is the first analysis of ABO blood groups in SCLC patients.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Turkey. oguzarzu@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oguz
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tasdemir
authors.forename: Samet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karahan
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aykas
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.forename: Yasemin Benderli
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Cihan
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanbay
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000097:blood*; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System