Influence of Caregiver Presence During Physician Office Visits on Patients Undergoing Chemoradiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer

PURPOSE: Although the association of marital status with outcomes for patients with cancer has been widely studied, the mechanisms underpinning the protective effect of marriage are still not fully understood. The social support that marriage imparts is often discussed as an explanation for why patients with cancer who are married have better outcomes. Social support has been difficult to objectively quantify. Accompaniment of the patient at physician visits may be more meaningful than marital status itself. This study investigated the effect of caregiver presence at physician visits on treatment tolerance and outcome in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for esophageal cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients who received a diagnosis of esophageal cancer who underwent CRT from January 1, 2005, to January 1, 2016, as part of their curative-intent management were retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included the patients’ marital status, caregiver presence at each physician visit, baseline performance status, serum albumin values and leukocyte values throughout treatment, patient weight values throughout treatment, tumor response to therapy, and overall survival. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on frequency of caregiver presence at physician visits (<50% or ≥50% of visits). Using χ(2) tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and log-rank tests, the patients’ characteristics, treatment tolerance and treatment outcome, and overall survival, respectively, were compared. RESULTS: In total, 35 of 59 patients were defined as having frequent caregiver presence at physician visits (≥50% of all documented visits), whereas 24 patients were categorized as having infrequent caregiver accompaniment. No significant difference in performance status or weight loss before the diagnosis of esophageal cancer was found. Patients who had frequent caregiver presence at physician visits maintained body weight better than those who had infrequent caregiver presence (median weight loss of 2.7 kg compared with 4.9 kg; P = .04). There was no difference in overall survival between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although patients with esophageal cancer undergoing CRT who had frequent caregiver presence at physician visits were not found to have an overall survival benefit, they had less weight loss, which may confer favorable treatment tolerance and maintenance of nutritional status during cancer treatment.