Effect of marriage on outcomes for elderly patients with head and neck cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Beneficial effects of marriage on cancer outcomes have been observed for many cancers, but oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers have never been examined.

METHODS:

We used the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program linked with Medicare records to identify 9403 elderly patients (age ≥66 years) with oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers. We used a propensity score analysis to estimate differences in proportions (pd ) between married and unmarried patients on stage, treatment, and survival.

RESULTS:

For oral cavity cancers, a larger proportion of married patients presented with earlier stage (pd = 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02-0.08), were treated with surgery (pd = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.03-0.08), and survived 1 year (pd = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.06). Similar results were found for pharyngeal cancers for stage (pd = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.06), treatment with chemotherapy and radiation (pd = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.07), and 1-year survival (pd = 0.01; 95% CI, 0.08-0.16).

CONCLUSION:

Marriage is associated with earlier stage, aggressive treatment, and superior survival for patients with oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers.

• Authors: Eric W Schaefer, Matthew Z Wilson, David Goldenberg, Heath Mackley, Wayne Koch, Christopher S Hollenbeak
• Journal: Head & neck (Head Neck) Vol. 37 Issue 5 Pg. 735-42 (May 2015) ISSN: 1097-0347 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24596027 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (mortality, pathology, psychology, therapy)
• Combined Modality Therapy
• Databases, Factual
• Disease-Free Survival
• Early Detection of Cancer
• Female
• Geriatric Assessment
• Head and Neck Neoplasms (mortality, pathology, psychology, therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• Marriage (psychology)
• Mouth Neoplasms (mortality, pathology, psychology, therapy)
• Neoplasm Invasiveness (pathology)
• Neoplasm Staging
• Pharyngeal Neoplasms (mortality, pathology, psychology, therapy)
• Prognosis
• Retrospective Studies
• SEER Program
• Survival Rate
• Treatment Outcome
• Vulnerable Populations