Association of ABO Blood Group Status in Patients with Breast Lesions and Emphasis on Invasive Breast Carcinoma

Introduction: The ABO blood group antigens are expressed on the erythrocyte membrane and on the surface of other normal and pathological cells. Recently, there has been an increasing research interest in the association between ABO blood group antigens and certain type of human cancers. Aim: To determine the association of ABO blood group and Rh blood type in patients with breast lesions. Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective observational study done at a rural tertiary care referral institute, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PESIMSR), Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, from January 2015 to December 2018. Apparently healthy female voluntary blood donors constituted the control group (n=222). Patients with breast lesions constituted the study group (n=125). The association of the breast lesions with ABO blood group and Rh blood type was analysed. Frequencies, Chi‑square test and crosstabs were the statistical tools used for data analysis. All the statistical calculations were performed through Statistical Software for Data Science (STATA) version 14.1. Results: Total 125 cases of breast lesions were analysed. Neoplastic lesions 113 (90.4%) were more common than the non neoplastic lesions 12 (9.6%). Blood group “O” was the most common blood group in malignant neoplasms and was statistically significant (p=0.045). Blood group B was the most common blood group in grade II invasive breast carcinoma and was statistically just significant (p=0.05). Conclusion: A definite change in the pattern of distribution of ABO blood group was observed in grade II malignant neoplasms. It may be hypothesised that knowing the blood group of breast cancer patients may be beneficial in order to triage the patients for the purpose of efficient management.