Katja[a]
39th ASCO Annual Meeting . Chicago, IL . May 31-June 3, 2003
(Abstract No. 450)
ABO blood group is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism in patients with malignant gliomas
M. B. Streiff, E. G. Weir, T. S. Kickler, M. Htut, S. A. Grossman
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with malignant gliomas.
The etiology of VTE in these patients remains incompletely understood.
To identify risk factors for VTE among glioma patients, we conducted a retrospective chart review of 107 randomly-selected adult patients with newly diagnosed gliomas who had their primary therapy at our institution from 1991 through 2000. Objective documentation of VTE by radiological testing or autopsy was required. The association between laboratory and clinical characteristics and VTE was assessed using parametric and nonparametric tests for continuous and categorical data, as appropriate.
Twenty-seven of 107 patients (25%) were diagnosed with VTE during their clinical course.
No association was noted between VTE and patient age, gender, race, the presence of limb paresis, obesity, tumor size, tumor grade, duration of operative procedure, the administration of chemotherapy, median hemoglobin, prothrombin time, or activated partial thromboplastin time.
In contrast, a significant association between VTE and ABO blood group was detected.
In this series of patients, AB blood group was 7 fold more common and blood group O was 2 fold less common in VTE+ patients (Χ2 test for trend p=0.016).
Factor VIII activity is known to be significantly higher among subjects with AB blood group compared with blood group O (McCallum et al. Thromb Haemostas 1983), and elevated factor VIII levels are known to increase the risk of VTE by 4-6 fold. (Kyrle et al. NEJM 2000)
These data suggest that ABO blood group may play a major role as a risk factor for VTE in patients with malignant gliomas.
Prospective studies to confirm this association are warranted.
ABO blood group frequencies and venous thromboembolism
(VTE) in glioma patients
Blood Group
VTE + patients
VTE - patients
US population?
?US population ABO blood group frequencies derived from Wintrobe´s Clinical Hematology edited by Lee G.R. et al. 9th edition 1993 p.618.
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