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ABO Blood Type/Rh Factor and the Incidence and Outcomes for Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

  • Breast Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poorer prognosis; the factors that contribute to this remain unclear. We hypothesized that TNBC is associated with ABO blood type/Rh factors that account for differences in survival.

Methods

We identified 468 patients with stage I–III TNBC [estrogen receptor (ER)-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative, and HER2 nonamplified]. Patient/tumor characteristics, treatments, and outcomes were obtained. Data were examined for associations with specific ABO blood type/Rh factors. Descriptive statistics and χ 2 analysis were utilized for data summary and comparisons.

Results

Of 468 TNBC patients, 283 had known ABO blood type [122 (43 %) O, 108 (38 %) A, 39 (14 %) B, and 14 (5 %) AB] and Rh factor [253 (89 %) positive and 30 (11 %) negative]. Mean patient age was 53.7 ± 12.5 years, and median follow-up was 30.2 ± 20.5 months. The incidence of each ABO blood type/Rh factor in our TNBC cohort was not different from the general population or a cohort of ER-positive breast cancers (P > 0.05). Compared with patients with blood type O, there was no difference in breast cancer-specific mortality for type A [hazard ratio (HR) 0.906; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.554–1.481], type B (HR 1.534; 95 % CI 0.792–2.972), or type AB (HR 0.488; 95 % CI 0.113–2.106). Compared with women with negative Rh, there was no difference in breast cancer-specific mortality for women with positive Rh (HR 1.161; 95 % CI 0.568–2.374).

Conclusions

TNBC was not associated with a specific ABO blood type or Rh factor. Our results failed to demonstrate an association between ABO blood type/Rh factor and breast cancer mortality in patients with TNBC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Jennifer Yu BS & Julie A. Margenthaler MD, FACS

  2. Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Feng Gao PhD

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    V. Suzanne Klimberg MD, FACS

Authors
  1. Jennifer Yu BS
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  2. Feng Gao PhD
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  3. V. Suzanne Klimberg MD, FACS
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  4. Julie A. Margenthaler MD, FACS
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie A. Margenthaler MD, FACS.

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Yu, J., Gao, F., Klimberg, V.S. et al. ABO Blood Type/Rh Factor and the Incidence and Outcomes for Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 19, 3159–3164 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-012-2533-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-012-2533-x

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