ABO blood group type and risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer

• Published in: Blood advances 2022-12, Vol.6 (24), p.6274-6281
• Main Authors: Englisch, Cornelia, Moik, Florian, Nopp, Stephan, Raderer, Markus, Pabinger, Ingrid, Ay, Cihan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABO Blood-Group System; Humans; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Prospective Studies; Regular; Risk Factors; Venous Thromboembolism - diagnosis
• ISSN: 2473-9529; 2473-9537; 2473-9537
• DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2021006283

•Non-O blood type is a time-dependent predictor of cancer-associated VTE.•Non-O blood type is associated with an increased VTE risk in patients with intermediate- and low-risk tumor types. [Display omitted] Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common in patients with cancer. Although in the general population blood type non-O is associated with increased VTE risk, the impact of ABO blood type on risk of cancer-associated VTE has not been clarified. To determine the influence of ABO blood type on cancer-associated VTE risk, we conducted an analysis within the Vienna Cancer and Thrombosis Study, a prospective cohort study including patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent cancer observed for the primary outcome VTE. Restricted cubic spline analysis was performed and specific time-restricted subdistribution hazard ratios (SHR) were calculated to investigate the association between non-O blood type and VTE over time. One thousand, seven hundred and eight patients were included in the analysis (median follow-up time: 24 months; interquartile range: 10-24), and 151 patients developed VTE (8.8%). During the first 3 months of follow-up, there was no association between non-O blood type and VTE risk (SHR: 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.60-1.67). Thereafter, non-O blood type was associated with a higher VTE risk (SHR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.12-2.85). Furthermore, non-O blood type was associated with increased VTE risk in patients with intermediate and low thrombotic risk tumor types (SHR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.09-2.73) but not in very high-risk types (pancreatic, gastroesophageal, and brain cancer; SHR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.55-1.61). This association was weakened after adjustment for factor VIII. Non-O blood type is a time-dependent predictor of VTE in patients with cancer. It is associated with increased VTE risk beyond 3 months of follow-up and in patients with intermediate- and low-risk tumor types.