Men who undergo surgery for prostate cancer may have a reduced risk of suffering a recurrence of the disease if they belong to a particular blood group, new research indicates.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in men and treatment often involves a radical prostatectomy - an operation to remove the prostate gland and some of the tissue around it.

However, even when this surgery appears successful, almost one in three patients will suffer a recurrence of the disease. Japanese scientists decided to investigate this further.

They followed the progress of 555 men with prostate cancer, who had undergone a radical prostatectomy between 2004 and 2010, for an average of over four years. They found that those with blood group O were 35% less likely to suffer a recurrence of the disease compared to those with blood group A.

According to the scientists from Tokyo Medical University, while bigger studies are needed to confirm the results, ‘this is the first time that anyone has shown that prostate cancer recurrence can vary with blood group'.

"As yet, we don't know why the risks vary with blood group, but this work may guide us towards new avenues of molecular research on prostate cancer progression.

"We need to consider what these results means in practical, clinical terms. For example, should we be counselling people with certain blood groups that they have a greater or lesser chance of recurrence, and should these risk factors be built into decisions on treatment?" the scientists said.

Details of these findings were presented at the European Association of Urology Congress in Stockholm.