The Effect of Marital Status on Survival of Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A SEER Database Analysis

Abstract

Background. Marital status has been reported to be a prognostic factor in multiple malignancies. However, its prognostic value on gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have not yet been determined. The objective of the present analysis was to assess the effects of marital status on survival in patients with GISTs. Methods. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to analyze 6195 patients who were diagnosed with GISTs from 2001 to 2014. We also use Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression to analyze the impact of marital status on cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results. Patients in the married group had more frequency in white people, more high/moderate grade tumors, and were more likely to receive surgery. Widowed patients had a higher proportion of women, a greater proportion of older patients (>60 years), and more common site of the stomach. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that marital status was an independent prognostic factor for GISTs (P<0.001). Married patients had better CSS than unmarried patients (P<0.001). Subgroup analysis suggested that widowed patients had the lowest CSS compared with all other patients. Conclusions. Marital status is a prognostic factor for survival in patients with GISTs, and widowed patients are at greater risk of cancer-specific mortality.