title: Prognostic value of ABO blood group in southern Chinese patients with established nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  ABO blood group is associated with aetiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, the effect of it on survival of patients diagnosed with NPC has not been explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analysed two cohorts of southern Chinese patients with WHO histological type III: intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) cohort, 924 patients; and conventional radiotherapy (CRT) cohort, 1193 patients. Associations of ABO blood group with survival were estimated using Cox regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In IMRT cohort, we observed significant associations of blood type A with overall survival (OS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), compared with type O, after adjusting for prognostic factors. Compared with non-A blood types (B, AB, and O), type A patients had significantly lower OS and DMFS (adjusted hazard ratio (HR)=1.49, 95% CI 1.03-2.17, P=0.036; HR=1.68, 95% CI 1.13-2.51, P=0.011, respectively); similar results were obtained in CRT cohort. Subgroup analyses of the entire population showed that lower OS conferred by blood type A was not significantly modified by age, smoking status, drinking status, immunoglobulin A against Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (VCA-IgA) titre, or chemotherapy; however, lower OS was not observed in female patients or patients with early clinical stage disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ABO blood group is associated with survival in NPC; patients with blood type A had significantly lower OS and DMFS than patients with non-A blood types.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, China.
authors.forename: P-Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Y-P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: F-Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D002277:Carcinoma; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System
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