ABO and rhesus blood groups as prognostic factors in transitional cell carcinomas of the upper urinary tract

In a study of 290 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract an excess of blood group A was found. Comparisons between blood group A versus O and rhesus-positive versus rhesus-negative in relation to tumor stages or grades of dysplasia showed no significant differences neither at presentation nor in actuarial survival rates. It is concluded that the blood group systems ABO and rhesus have no prognostic value in urothelial tumors of the upper urinary tract.