Abstract
Gliomas are one of the most common primary brain tumors and the etiology of gliomas remains unknown in most cases. The aim of this case–control study was to investigate possible association between incidence in relation to glioma and certain blood groups. This study included 100 histopathologically verified cases of glioma and 200 age and sex-matched controls without malignant diseases that were admitted to the same hospital. The results revealed that the patients with group AB were at 3.5-fold increased risk of developing glioma compared to the patients with other ABO blood groups. In this particular study, there was more male patients with glioma with the blood group AB. However, mechanisms that explain the relationship between the blood groups ABO and a cancer risk are unclear. Several hypotheses have been proposed, including the one with a modulatory role of blood group ABO antigens. In addition, the blood group ABO system regulates the level of circulating proinflammatory and adhesion molecules which play a significant role in the tumorigenesis process. Additionally, the recent discovery that includes the von Willebrand factor (vWF) as an important modulator of angiogenesis and apoptosis provides one plausible explanation as regards the role of the blood group ABO in the tumorigenesis process. To our knowledge, this is the first study that examined the relationship of blood group in patients diagnosed with glioma among the Serbian population. Moreover, for the first time our study results suggested that blood group AB increased the risk of glioma. The results of this study suggested that the blood group AB could be one of hereditary factors which had an influence on the occurrence of glioma. The further research is needed on a larger sample, to confirm these findings and the possible mechanisms by which the ABO system contributes to the pathology of glioma.