ABO blood group, Epstein-Barr virus infection and prognosis of patients with non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Ya-Xiong Zhang,Li Zhang,Wen-Feng Fang,Wen-Hua Liang,Shi-Yang Kang,Xuan Wu,Da-Cheng He,Gang Chen,Ya-Lin Cao,Hua-Jing You

doi:10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.17.7459

Ya-Xiong Zhang, Li Zhang + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.17.7459

Copy DOI

Abstract

A prior study showed blood type A/AB to be associated with an increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) compared to subjects with blood type O. However, the relationship between ABO blood groups and prognosis of NPC patients is still questionable. In addition, whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with prognosis of NPC patients with different ABO blood groups is unclear. We conducted univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses based on a consecutive cohort of 1,601 patients to investigate the above issues. There was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) between different ABO blood groups (p=0.629), neither between A vs. non-A blood groups (p=0.895) nor AB vs. non-AB blood group (p=0.309) in univariate analyses and after adjusting for other factors. Interaction tests revealed that high immunoglobulin A against Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (VcA-IgA) level was associated with a favorable prognosis in male patients with UICC stage II disease who had an A blood type (p=0.008), compared with those with non-A blood type. In addition, male patients with an A blood group with a high blood lymphocyte level showed a tendency towards better survival in UICC stage III (p=0.096). ABO blood group status is not associated with the prognosis of patients with NPC. Additionally, blood group A male NPC patients with high VcA-IgA level or high blood lymphocyte counts might be correlated with a favorable prognosis in UICC stage II or III, respectively.

Highlights

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common head and neck malignant neoplasm, especially in southern China where the major pathological type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is nonkeratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma (World Health Organization Type III) (Jemal et al, 2011; Huang et al, 2012)
Interaction tests revealed that high immunoglobulin A against Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (VcA-IgA) level was associated with a favorable prognosis in male patients with UICC stage II disease who had an A blood type (p=0.008), compared with those with non-A blood type
A previous study suggested that blood type A or AB was associated with an increased risk of NPC and male patients with blood group A had higher rates of distant metastasis than those in other blood groups, while the prognostic value of blood group A remained uncertain (Sheng et al, 2013)

Summary

Introduction

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common head and neck malignant neoplasm, especially in southern China where the major pathological type of NPC is nonkeratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma (World Health Organization Type III) (Jemal et al, 2011; Huang et al, 2012). A prior study showed blood type A/AB to be associated with an increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) compared to subjects with blood type O. Whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with prognosis of NPC patients with different ABO blood groups is unclear. Interaction tests revealed that high immunoglobulin A against Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (VcA-IgA) level was associated with a favorable prognosis in male patients with UICC stage II disease who had an A blood type (p=0.008), compared with those with non-A blood type. Male patients with an A blood group with a high blood lymphocyte level showeda tendency towards better survival in UICC stage III (p=0.096). Blood group A male NPC patients with high VcA-IgA level or high blood lymphocyte counts might be correlated with a favorable prognosis in UICC stage II or III, respectively

Methods

Results

Conclusion