The Influence of Marital Status on the Survival of Patients with Uveal Melanoma

BACKGROUND: Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults and arises from the uvea. Marital status was a vital factor among physical conditions and social networks of cancer patients. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of marital status on the outcomes among patients with UM. METHODS: Patients with UM newly diagnosed from 2004 to 2015 were extracted, and the data were extracted from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Overall survival (OS) was measured via the log-rank test, as well as cancer-specific survival (CSS) was also calculated via the same method. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to assess whether marital status was related to both OS and CSS. Furthermore, we performed subgroup analysis depending on different sexes and SEER stages. RESULTS: In total, 4217 eligible patients were involved. Of these patients, 66.2% (n = 2793) were married, 14.6% (n = 615) were single, and 9.0% (n = 379) were divorced or separated, as well as widowed were 10.2% (n = 430). The 5-year OS of married, single, divorced or separated, and widowed patients was 74.0%, 72.8%, 68.6%, and 55.8%, respectively. The results indicating better OS and CSS occurred among married patients. Other factors such as sex, age at diagnosis, and SEER stage were also correlated with survival in UM patients. Furthermore, subgroup analyses were consistent with the results above. CONCLUSION: Marital status was proved to be an independent prognostic value for survival in UM patients. In addition, contrast to married patients, widowed individuals showed poor OS and CSS at different subgroup analyses.