Lack of association between the distribution of ABO blood groups and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a population of Southern China

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in Southern China and Southeast Asia. The ABO blood group antigens are chemical constituents on the surface of red blood cells and various epithelial cells. Several studies have described the association of ABO blood types with multiple types of human cancer. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the incidence of NPC and ABO blood groups. We retrospectively analyzed the files of 1136 pathologically confirmed patients with NPC and 1024 cancer-free healthy controls, including the information of serologically determined blood group. The distribution of blood groups between patients with NPC and the control group was determined. The Chi-square test was applied to assess the distribution of age, gender, smoking, family history, and ABO blood groups between the NPC and the controls. Pearson's correlation was performed to evaluate the correlation between ABO blood groups and clinical stages. There was no significant difference in age, smoking, family history, and ABO blood group between patients with NPC and the control group (P > 0.05). ABO blood groups were also not associated with NPC stages (P = 0.506). However, the proportion of males with NPC was higher than that of control group (P < 0.01). The blood group types were not associated with increased risk of NPC and NPC stages in a population of Southern China.