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Relationship between ABO blood groups and head and neck cancer among Greek patients
Kassiani Kakava1, Ioannis Karelas, Ioannis Koutrafouris
1Department of Otolaryngology and 2Endocrinogy, "Metaxa" Cancer Hospital, Botasi 51, Piraeus, Greece.
Purpose:
We examined the association of ABO blood groups with the different types of head and neck cancers.
Methods:
195 diagnosed cases and 801 controls were selected from a Greek tertiary cancer center. Information regarding type of head and neck cancer and ABO blood group was collected and registered.
Results:
The O blood group was found to be most prevalent followed by A, B and AB among the controls, whereas blood group A followed by O, B and AB was most prevalent among cancer patients. The difference among the distribution between the cases and controls was statistically significant in blood group A (p<0.05), whereas blood group A had 1.52-fold higher risk of developing head and neck cancer compared to people of other blood groups.
Conclusions:
Blood group A was found to be a potential risk factor for the development of head and neck cancers.
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