Married HCC patients have better overall survival

Among hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, being married appears to have positive prognostic implications on overall survival (OS), a recent study has found.

Drawing from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, the researchers evaluated 2,446 HCC patients (median age 59 years, 74.4 percent men) with stage Ia disease. Cox regression and Fine-Gray regression models were used to assess the primary outcome of OS.

At baseline, 57.1 percent (n=1,397) were married, while the remaining 42.9 percent (n=1,049) were either unmarried or of other marital status. The median OS time was 96.0 months, with 5- and 10-year OS estimates of 58.2 percent and 45.8 percent, respectively.

Adjusted Fine-Gray models showed that age at the time of diagnosis, tumour differentiation, surgical resection at the primary tumour site, and chemotherapy were significantly correlated with OS.

Of note, marital status also emerged as a significant indicator of OS, such that married patients had better survival than unmarried counterparts (hazard ratio [HR], 1.378, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.212–1.568; p<0.001).

This was confirmed in Cox regression analysis, which likewise identified marital status as a positive correlate of OS (HR, 1.389, 95 percent CI, 1.223–1.578; p<0.001).

“Our results are consistent with earlier major studies supporting the benefit of being married for stage Ia HCC patients,” the researchers said. “When treating localized diseases with potential medical cures, additional interventions, including but not limited to family and social support, should be given to subpopulations with negative marital status.”