Blood Groups and MPN

Hi, anyone seen any research on different blood groups and propensity for / correlation with MPN? I have seen only one abstract of some Indian research from 2018. Seems a field of enquiry where there ought to be easily accessible and large scale results given that we MPNers are all having regular blood tests.

[hunter5582]

The only thing I have ever seen is that people with type O blood tend to have lower von Willebrand Factor levels. That is only indirectly related as for most people with MPNs, Acquired von Willebrand Diaease is not an issue.

Please let us know if you learn anything on this topic.

[TTA_]

If the study is the one below, it is just correlation and most likely sample dependent. The distribution of blood types differs a lot by country and even by region in same country if the country is big enough (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blo..., and even by sex in some regions (nature.com/articles/151640a0). It is very difficult to conclude anything with a sample of ~200 people, even if they have controls in their study. MPNs are rare-ish, so the MPN group is going to be from a broader area than their controls. And correlation does not equal causation.

Another shortcoming of the study is that more than half of the sample is CML, and there it seems there are some differences, but, again, it can simply be sample dependent. With small samples of ET, PV, and MF, they can say almost nothing.

Also, saying that group O, the most common group type in the general population, is the most common in ET and PV brings no useful information. If type O is the most common blood group in the general population, it ends up being the most common in ET and PV too, via extension.

If they really wanted to see differences, maybe explore whether there are differences in blood types between specific mutations that can cause MPNs. But even then it is a bit debatable if they can justify why such research is needed.

researchgate.net/publicatio...

[Hidden in reply to TTA_]

Thanks TTA - and Hunter earlier. It was indeed that study which I saw. What surprised me was the absence of any large-scale study of the correlation between blood groups and MPN, before all the work on the mutation types that cause MPNs. Maybe the reason for that absence is obvious to someone with a medical/scientific mind, but wasn’t to me . I take your points about distribution and sampling. That may explain the absence. It’s good to see a note of scepticism.

On the other hand, the old adage ‘just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you’ may have some validity. I’m B Rh positive and have MF (of some sort). I’ll take it up with my MPN specialist.

Best wishes

[TTA_]

I have hereditary thrombocytosis, and I am the 3rd generation to have it. I do not have the same blood group as my father, and he did not have the same blood group as his mother. The genetic mutation was passed between generations and manifested irrespective of blood group.There are studies on familial thrombocytosis in which the family members having ET do not have the same mutation (e.g., parent had JAK2V617F, child has MPL), and chances are the blood group there doesn't make much of a difference there too.

I know there are some studies on blood groups and risk for disease, but they do tend to contradict themselves. Remember that predominance of a blood group type is due to genetics, and the same mechanisms that led to a high prevalence of a blood group in a population also lead to the presence of other mutations that can increase risk for some diseases. And sometimes just that environment via different factors can lead to risk for diseases, but since people share both the genes that lead to a certain blood group type to be more prevalent and the respective environment, it can create a false association between blood group and a specific risk.

According to my blood group, I should not have kidney stones. But I had them since childhood. According to his blood type, my dad should have been at lower risk for a host of diseases, yet he was not. This because there are so many other genes and environmental factors that influence our risk.

This study below is on the association of blood type and risk for disease and due to its agnostic perspective and lack of control for environmental factors, it is debatable that what they found will age well. Also, a sample of 5 million would make even the most random association as statistically significant, despite it being random:

elifesciences.org/articles/...

[Hidden in reply to TTA_]

Thank you TTA. That is just the sort of large scale study that I was hoping to find, but it obviously doesn’t exist for MPN, nor probably can it given the relative rarity of MPNs. I shall read it again carefully. I also appreciate your insights based on your own condition and that of your family. You have provided a valuable caveat to assumptions based on correlation and low sampling. And I appreciate the time you have given to responding to me.

Best wishes

[PhysAssist]

Hi Hidden,

A brief unfocused search found this:

"The current study is the first to examine the impact of ABO blood group type on thrombosis in ET and unveils a 2.6-fold increased risk of venous thrombosis after diagnosis with the B blood group.

Blood group type was not associated with more historical thrombotic events in ET.

Therefore, the development of ET likely served as an additive clonal risk factor for thrombosis and unmasked inherent thrombosis risk based on the blood group type.

In contrast to our findings, prior studies in the general population and patients with non-hematological cancer have demonstrated an increased risk of thrombosis with non-O blood types compared to blood type O.

In a population-based study of blood donors, a consistent association between non-O blood type (A, B and AB) and both venous thrombosis and cardiovascular events was reported, with a third of venous events occurring in patients with non-O blood type.

Amongst non-O blood groups (A, B, AB), blood group B was associated with an increased incidence of venous thrombosis in patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

Moreover, in a separate study, blood group B was found to be independently predictive of recurrent venous thrombosis.

Previous studies have entertained higher plasma von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels in patients with non-O blood type, as a possible explanation; vWF levels in the current study were available in a limited number of patients (n = 42), which precluded comparative analyses.

The exact mechanism for increased risk of venous thrombosis with certain blood types has not been fully elucidated and extends beyond differences in vWF levels.

Moreover, in ET patients, the possible influence of extreme thrombocytosis and acquired von Willebrand syndrome also requires consideration.

The latter might have contributed to higher rates of major hemorrhage observed in ET patients with AB blood group."

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

Which the ET patients among us might find useful.

Best,

PA