Marriage Helps Cancer Patients Survive, Separated
Patients Have Lowest Survival Rates
The stress of separation may compromise the immune
system and thus create a greater vulnerability to cancer
Aug. 24, 2009 - Married cancer patients have, by
far, the best chance of survival, according to an extremely large study
that looked at 3.79 cases of people diagnosed with cancer. The authors
of the study to appear in Cancer say the results suggest that the
stress associated with marital separation may compromise an individual's
immune system and lead to a greater susceptibility to cancer, since the
patients with the worst chance of survival are those that are separated.
Previous research has shown that personal
relationships have a significant role in physical health - specifically
that good relationships are beneficial and poor relationships are
deleterious.
Also, many studies of cancer prognosis have found
that patients who are married live longer than those who are single.
However, little information is available regarding differences in
survival among the various types of people who are unmarried.
To look for trends in cancer survival among
patients who are separated, divorced, widowed, and never married,
researchers led by Gwen Sprehn, Ph.D., of the Indiana University School
of Medicine in Indianapolis analyzed data from the Surveillance
Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, a population-based cancer
registry in the United States.
The researchers assessed the 5 and 10 year survival
rates of 3.79 million patients diagnosed with cancer between 1973 and
2004. They found that
● married patients had the highest survival
rates, at 63.3% and 57.5% respectively;
● interestingly, never married patients ranked
next, at 57.3% and 51.7%;
● divorced patients were 52.4% and 45.6%;
● widowed patients were the next to lowest, at
47.2% and 40.9%; and
● at the bottom of the spectrum, separation
carried the poorest survival outcome - 45.4% and 36.8% .
The authors hypothesized that the stress of
separation may compromise the immune system and thus create a greater
vulnerability to cancer. While additional research is needed, the
researchers say certain interventions might help patients today.
For example, psychological interventions to reduce
stress may impact the immune system and improve survival.
"Patients who are going through separation at the
time of diagnosis may be a particularly vulnerable population for whom
intervention could be prioritized," says Sprehn.
"Identification of relationship-related stress at
time of diagnosis could lead to early interventions which might
favorably impact survival. Ideally, future research will study marital
status in more detail over time and also address individual differences
in genetic profile and biomarkers related to stress, immune, and cancer
pathways in order to determine mechanisms which might underlie this
possible critical period for cancer pathogenesis."
This study, published online today, is to be
published in the November 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a
peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Article: "Decreased cancer survival in individuals
separated at time of diagnosis: critical period for cancer
pathophysiology?" Gwen C. Sprehn, Joanna E. Chambers, Andrew J. Saykin,
Andre Konski, and Peter A. S. Johnstone. Cancer; Published Online:
August 24, 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24547).
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Aug. 24, 2009 - Married cancer patients have, by
far, the best chance of survival, according to an extremely large study
that looked at 3.79 cases of people diagnosed with cancer. The authors
of the study to appear in Cancer say the results suggest that the
stress associated with marital separation may compromise an individual's
immune system and lead to a greater susceptibility to cancer, since the
patients with the worst chance of survival are those that are separated.
