Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Abstract

Objective: Marital status is viewed as an independent prognostic factor for survival in various cancer types. However, its role in primary liver cancer hasn�t been thoroughly explored. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of marital status on survival outcomes among liver cancer patients. Methods: We used the surveillance, epidemiology and end results (SEER) database to identify 40,809 patients diagnosed with primary liver cancer between 2004 and 2012. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were performed to identify the influence of diverse marital status on overall and liver cancer-specific survival. Results: We finally identified 40,809 eligible liver cancer patients between 2004 and 2012, including 21,939 (53.8%) patients were married at diagnosis and 18,870 (46.2%) was unmarried (including the divorced/separated, the widowed, and the single). Married patients had better overall and cause-specific survival outcomes compared with patients who were divorced/separated, widowed, single, respectively. The benefit associated with marriage still persisted even after adjusted for other confounders. Widowed individuals were at greater risk of overall and cancer-specific mortality compared to other groups. Similar associations were observed in subgroup analyses according to SEER stage. Conclusions: Our results indicated that marital status was a prognostic factor for better survival outcomes in liver cancer patients. We speculated that social support may contribute better survival outcomes, especial for the widowed. More social supports and care should be provided for unmarried patients in our clinic practice.

Biography

Email: hexingkang@zju.edu.cn