ABO blood group system group. Compared to O group individuals, non-O group (A, AB, and B) individuals have a 14% reduced risk of squamous cell carcinoma and 4% reduced risk of basal cell carcinoma. Conversely, type O blood is associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. The B antigen links with increased risk of ovarian cancer. Gastric cancer has reported to be more common in blood group A and least in group O. According to Glass, Holmgren, et al., those in the O blood group have an increased risk of infection with cholera, and those O-group individuals who are infected have more severe
ABO blood group system and likely predates human migration from Africa. The O01 allele is considered to predate the O02 allele. Some evolutionary biologists theorize that there are four main lineages of the ABO gene and that mutations creating type O have occurred at least three times in humans. From oldest to youngest, these lineages comprise the following alleles: "A101/A201/O09", "B101", "O02" and "O01". The continued presence of the O alleles is hypothesized to be the result of balancing selection. Both theories contradict the previously held theory that type O blood evolved first. It is possible that food and environmental antigens (bacterial, viral, or