Marital status and survival of patients with kidney cancer

BACKGROUND: The relationship between marital status and prognosis of kidney cancer has not been explored in detail. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of marital status on survival outcomes in kidney cancer. METHODS: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program to identify 112860 patients with kidney cancer diagnosed in 2004 through 2013. Kaplan-Meier methods and multivariable Cox regression models were used to analyze the influence of marital status on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: Married patients had better 5-year OS and CSS compared with patients who were divorced/separated, widowed, and single. After adjusting for known confounders, unmarried patients were at greater risk of overall and cancer-specific mortality, especially the widowed. Moreover, subgroup analysis showed that married still had better prognosis across different SEER stages, ages and sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that marriage is associated with better outcomes of both OS and CSS in kidney cancer patients.