RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BLOOD-GROUPS AND TUMOR GRADE, NUMBER, SIZE, STAGE, RECURRENCE AND SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE BLADDER

Blood group was correlated with the tumour grade, number, size, stage and recurrence rate and with survival in 261 consecutive patients with bladder cancer analyzed at least five years after diagnosis of the di sease. The distribution of blood groups did not differ from that in th e general population. There were no significant differences in the inc idence of invasion at the time of diagnosis or later, in the number of the tumours or in the recurrence rate. A tendency for high-grade and large-sized tumours was observed in the blood groups 0(H) and B. Diffe rences in mortality were not observed until eight years after diagnosi s, so that 28% of the patients with blood group A and 40% of those wit h blood group 0 had died of bladder cancer by ten years after diagnosi s. Since the differences are small, the clinical significance of blood groups as a prognostic factor in bladder cancer patients is minimal. However, there seems to be a need for further research of the signific ance of genetic background in the natural history of bladder cancer.