Effect of marriage on outcomes for elderly patients with head and neck cancer. Issue 5 (18th June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schaefer, Eric W.; Wilson, Matthew Z.; Goldenberg, David; Mackley, Heath; Koch, Wayne; Hollenbeak, Christopher S.
• Is Part Of: Head & neck. Volume 37:Issue 5(2015:May)
• Page Start: 735
• Page End: 742
• Publication Date: 2014-06-18
• Subjects: marital status -- head and neck cancer -- cancer stage -- cancer treatment -- cancer survival; Head -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Neck -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Head -- Periodicals; Neck -- Periodicals; Face -- Periodicals; 617.51059
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.23657
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1043-3074

Abstract

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. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 735–742, 2015