Effects of Marital Status on Prognosis in Women with Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast: A Real-World 1: 1 Propensity-Matched Study

BACKGROUND: The effects of marital status on infiltrating ductal carcinoma of breast cancer (IDC) have not been studied in detail. This study investigated the impact of marital status on IDC patients. MATERIAL/METHODS: SEER databases were searched from 2010 to 2015 for subjects who were married, divorced, single, and widowed. The influence of marital status on breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS) of IDC patients was investigated through multivariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis. To prevent bias, propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed. RESULTS: The 5-year OS was 89.6%in married patients, 84.9% in divorced patients, 83.5% in single patients, and 71.3% in widowed patients (p<0.001). The 5-year BCSS were 92.9%, 90.2%, 87.6%, and 86.4%, respectively (p<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that marriage was a protective factor for patients with IDC in terms of OS (divorced: HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.21–1.32; p<0.001; single: HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.31–1.42; p<0.001; widowed: HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.36–1.48; p<0.001) and BCSS (divorced: HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.09–1.21; p<0.001; single: HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.21–1.33; p<0.001; widowed: HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.25–1.40; p<0.001). Following subgroup and PSM analysis, married patients were shown to have better OS and BCSS as opposed to divorced, single, or widowed patients. CONCLUSIONS: We identify marital status as a predictor of survival in those with IDC. Widowed patients showed the highest mortality risk.