Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
www.pharmpress.com/fact
Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2002; 7: 106
Renewed interest in the relationship between blood type and cancer has been prompted by the book Eat Right for Your Type by D’Adamo. Based on ‘clinical observations,’ the author claims that men with blood type A are more prone to prostate cancer and are diagnosed with a more aggressive malignancy. The purpose of our study was to test D’Adamo’s claims.
Data were collected from the hospital files of 400 men that had prostatectomy at Vancouver Hospital. These data included: demographics, blood type, stage and grade of prostate cancer, and prognostic indicators.
The distribution of blood types of men that had undergone prostate surgery indicated that men with blood type A are not more prone to prostate cancer. Our analysis also indicated that men with blood type A did not have a more aggressive malignancy, as there were no significant relationships between stage and grade of cancer, prognosis and blood types.
Our data did not support the theory that blood type is linked to risk for and severity of prostate cancer. Many people with blood type A may be worrying needlessly about their risk for cancer. Unsubstantiated medical claims in the popular literature emphasise the need for the evaluation of alternative medicine theories as well as therapies.
