Dongli Gao,1 Mingzhi Zhang,2 Shuxin Lv,1 Qinan Yin,3 Zhenchang Sun,2 Ling Qin1 

1Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Laboratory for Precision Medicine, School of Medical Technology and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Ling Qin, Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13838837729, Email zzqq777@126.com

Background: Our previous research had demonstrated that there might exist a certain correlation between ABO blood group and lymphoma. This study aimed to investigate the influence of ABO blood group in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 220 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL. Chi-square test and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between ABO blood type and both the risk and prognosis of DLBCL.
Results: In females, individuals who had blood type AB exhibited a higher propensity for developing DLBCL in comparison to those with blood type B (P=0.005). Notably, among DLBCL patients who were over the age of 60 years, those who had blood type B had significantly shorter 3-year overall survival (OS) compared to patients with non-B blood types (P=0.030). Conversely, among DLBCL patients aged 60 years or younger, no significant disparity in OS was observed between those with blood type B and non-B blood types (P= 0.196). Both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted on DLBCL patients who were over 60 years old. These analyses revealed that having blood type B served as a negative prognostic factor for this subset of patients.
Conclusion: Females with blood type B may have a lower risk of developing DLBCL compared to females with blood type AB. For DLBCL patients older than 60 years, blood type B may be considered a poor prognostic factor.

Keywords: ABO blood group, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, risk, prognosis, survival