Frequency and specificity of Red blood cell alloantibodies in multitransfused Egyptian patients with hematological and nonhematological malignancies

Abstract

Background: Repeated blood transfusions can result in the production of alloantibodies against one or more red blood cell (RBC) antigens, which can complicate future transfusions.

Aim: This study aims to determine the frequency and specificities of RBC alloantibodies in multitransfused adult cancer patients admitted at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University.

Methods: This cohort study enrolled 2000 multitransfused cancer patients diagnosed with different types of malignancies; they were screened for RBC alloantibodies using Serascan Diana 3 and Identisera Diana 11-cell identification panels (Diagnostic Grifols, Spain).

Results: Of the 2000 patients tested, 25 had autoantibodies and were excluded from the study. Of the remaining 1975 patients, 181 patients had a total of 267 different alloantibodies (9.16%), with some having more than 1 antibody detected. Our study showed that more female patients (63%) than male patients (37%) had acquired RBC alloantibodies, and a higher prevalence of alloantibodies in patients with nonhematological malignancies (14%) compared with those with hematological malignancies (6.5%). The highest percentage of alloantibodies belongs to the Rh blood group system, followed by the Kell system, then Duffy, MNS, Kidd, and Lewis. Patients who received combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy exhibited a lesser antibody response compared to other patients.

Conclusion: The prevalence of alloimmunization in our study is comparable to previous reports on oncology patients. Repeated blood transfusions, which can lead to alloimmunization, often complicate future transfusions. Therefore, we recommend extending phenotype matching for patients who are presumed to depend on blood transfusions in the long term.

Keywords: Alloantibodies; Cancer patients; Repeated blood transfusions.