The prognostic value of Laurén's histopathological classification system and ABO blood groups in patients with stomach carcinoma.

The prognostic value of Laurén's histopathological classification system and the ABO blood group system has been studied in 275 patients with cancer of the stomach. The study disclosed a higher rate of tumours of intestinal type in females aged 70 years or more compared with those under 70 years, but no such relation for males. We found no relation between histopathological classification and blood groups. For patients with blood group A the 5-year survival was 17.5%, compared to 8.4% for blood group O (P less than 0.05). Survival for patients with intestinal and diffuse tumours was 17.7% and 4.8% respectively (P less than 0.01). A multivariate analysis showed that the histopathological classification system, independently, was an important factor with respect to survival (all other factors constant). Blood group might also be of importance as a prognostic factor, but further studies are necessary to confirm this.