Studies have shown improved survival among individuals with cancer with higher levels of social support. Few studies have investigated social support and overall survival (OS) in individuals with advanced prostate cancer in an international cohort. We investigated the associations of marital status and living arrangements with OS among individuals with advanced prostate cancer in the International Registry for Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer (IRONMAN).
IRONMAN is enrolling participants diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer (metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, mHSPC; castration resistant prostate cancer, CRPC) from 16 countries. Participants in this analysis were recruited between July 2017 and January 2023. Adjusting for demographics and tumor characteristics, the associations were estimated using Cox regression and stratified by disease state (mHSPC, CRPC), age (<70, 70+ years), and continent of enrollment (North America, Europe, Other).
We included 2,119 participants with advanced prostate cancer, of whom 427 died during up to 5 years of follow-up (median 6 months). Two-thirds had mHSPC. Most were married/in a civil partnership (79%) and 6% were widowed. Very few married participants were living alone (1%), while most unmarried participants were living alone (70%). Married participants had better OS than unmarried participants (adjusted HR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.02). Widowed participants had the worst survival compared to married individuals (adjusted HR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.94).
Among those with advanced prostate cancer, unmarried and widowed participants had worse OS compared to married participants.
This research highlighted the importance of social support in OS within this vulnerable population.
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 2024 Jan 08 [Epub ahead of print]
Naiyu Chen, Colleen B McGrath, Caroline I Ericsson, Jane B Vaselkiv, Emily M Rencsok, Konrad H Stopsack, Hannah E Guard, Karen A Autio, Dana E Rathkopf, Deborah Enting, Rhonda L Bitting, Joaquin Mateo, Charles Waihenya Githiaka, Kim N Chi, Heather H Cheng, Ian D Davis, Simon G Anderson, Simone Ann Marie Badal, Anders Bjartell, Kjell M Russnes, Elisabeth I Heath, Mark M Pomerantz, John C Henegan, Terry Hyslop, Emilio Esteban, Aurelius Omlin, Ray McDermott, Andre P Fay, Ademola Alabi Popoola, Camille Ragin, Joel Nowak, Travis Gerke, Philip W Kantoff, Daniel J George, Kathryn L Penney, Lorelei A Mucci
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States., Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom., Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston Salem, NC, United States., Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain., University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya., BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada., Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium, Seattle, WA, United States., Monash University, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia., University of the West Indies, Barbados., University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica., Skåne University Hospital, Sweden., Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway., Karmanos Cancer Center, Detroit, MI, United States., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, United States., University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States., Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States., Centro Integral Oncológico Clara Campal, Madrid, Spain., Onkozentrum, Zuerich, Switzerland., Cancer Trials Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, Ireland., Hospital São Lucas da PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil., University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria., Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States., Cancer ABCs, Brooklyn, New York, United States., Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium, United States., Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States., Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.