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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Hepatobiliary Diseases
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1432137
This article is part of the Research Topic Treatment and Prognostic Assessment of Liver Cirrhosis and Its Complications, Volume II View all 20 articles

No association of ABO blood groups and Rh factor with primary liver cancer in cirrhotic patients: a single-center cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Liyan Dong Liyan Dong *Yuhang Yin Yuhang Yin *Huiyuan Lu Huiyuan Lu *Di Sun Di Sun *Dongyang Wang Dongyang Wang *Deli Zou Deli Zou *Xingshun Qi Xingshun Qi *
  • Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. ABO blood groups and Rhesus (Rh) factor are inherited characteristics. Their association with the presence of PLC remains unclear in cirrhotic patients. Hence, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate whether blood groups were risk factors for the presence of PLC in cirrhosis. Methods: Patients with liver cirrhosis who were consecutively admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology of the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2014 were retrospectively screened. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association of ABO blood groups and Rh factor with PLC in cirrhotic patients. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated after adjusting for gender, age, family history of liver cirrhosis, HBV-DNA positivity, and etiology of cirrhosis. Subgroups analyses were performed according to the etiology of liver cirrhosis. Results: Overall, 1158 cirrhotic patients without PLC and 240 cirrhotic patients with PLC were included. After adjusting for confounding factors, non-O blood group (aOR=0.763; 95%CI=0.449-1.298, p=0.319), A blood group (aOR=0.643; 95%CI=0.332-1.246, p=0.191), B blood group (aOR=0.835; 95%CI=0.453-1.540, p=0.564), AB blood group (aOR=0.888; 95%CI=0.363-2.170, p=0.795), and Rh (+) (aOR=0.239; 95%CI=0.036-1.571, p=0.136) were not independently associated with PLC in cirrhotic patients. In the subgroup analysis of HBV-related cirrhotic patients, the proportion of A blood group was significantly lower in cirrhotic patients with PLC than those without (24.17% vs. 33.99%, p<0.001); however, in those of HCV and alcohol-related cirrhotic patients, the proportions of ABO blood groups and Rh factor were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: ABO blood groups and Rh factor may not be associated with the presence of PLC in cirrhotic patients.

    Keywords: ABO blood groups, Rhesus factor, primary liver cancer, Liver Cirrhosis, risk factor

    Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dong, Yin, Lu, Sun, Wang, Zou and Qi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Liyan Dong, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Yuhang Yin, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Huiyuan Lu, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Di Sun, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Dongyang Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Deli Zou, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
    Xingshun Qi, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

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