Prognostic Impact of ABO Blood Group on the Survival in Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Purpose: The impact of ABO blood group on the survival of patients with ovarian cancer remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the ABO blood group in ovarian cancer patients.

Methods: 256 ovarian cancer patients who received a cytoreductive surgery were retrospectively reviewed. The prognostic impact of the ABO blood group with respect to overall survival (OS) was analyzed.

Results: The median follow-up time was 57 months and the 5-year OS was 70.1%. The 5-year OS were 55.0%, 83.3%, 82.5%, and 70.0% in patients with A, B, AB, and O blood type, respectively (p = 0.003). Patients with blood type A had a poorer 5-year OS than patients with blood type non-A (55.0% vs. 75.0%, p = 0.001), especially in patients with age > 50 years (40.0% vs. 62.5%, p = 0.004). Univariate Cox analyses showed that blood type A was significantly associated with OS than those with non-A types (hazard ratio (HR) 2.210, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.373-3.557, p = 0.001). Blood type A remained an independent prognostic factor for OS than those with non-A blood types in multivariate analyses (HR 2.235, 95% CI 1.360-3.674, p = 0.002).

Conclusion: ABO blood group is associated with survival in patients with ovarian cancer, patients with blood type A had a significantly worse OS than patients with non-A blood types, especially in patients with age > 50 years.