SynthesisCancer medicine2023
Marital status and survival in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Cancer medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Lifestyle factors affecting the prognosis of gynecological cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2025Pooled it
- Marital status and survival in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Cancer medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Translation, cultural adaptation, and descriptive psychometric pilot evaluation of the Swedish Cancer Support Source-caregiver.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Depressive symptoms and perceived stress in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy: A longitudinal study.European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society · 2026Article
- Utilizing relative survival to investigate melanoma subtypes across intersectional demographics: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cohort study.Skin health and disease · 2026Article
- Challenges identified from trends in mortality among patients with gastrointestinal cancer in the United States.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Article
- The effect of gender role stress on psychological distress in women with breast cancer after mastectomy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Marital Status Is Associated With Treatment Attainment in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.Journal of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Interpretable machine learning models for bladder cancer overall survival prediction development and external validation via SEER database and Chinese cohort analysis.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- The validity and reliability of the Swedish CancerSupportSource-Caregiver: a screening tool for psychological distress and support needs in clinical cancer care.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2026Article
- Psychosocial factors and overall mortality after prostate cancer diagnosis among predominantly low-income Black and White adults.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Article
- Prevalence and predictors of do-not-resuscitate orders among advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care at a tertiary cancer center in Jordan: a 10-year retrospective analysis.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Exploring the role of marital status on survival and stage at diagnosis in early-onset colorectal cancer by race/ethnicity.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Marriage and Cancer Risk: A Contemporary Population-Based Study Across Demographic Groups and Cancer Types.Cancer research communications · 2026Article
- Person-level health factors partially mediate the association between lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity, allostatic load, and cancer mortality in NHANES.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Article
- Paranasal Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma: A SEER Database Analysis.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Characteristics and Prognosis of Early-Onset vs. Late-Onset Colon Cancer: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis Based on Histology.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring the Impact of Gender and Income on Concerns Reported by Cancer Survivors Aged ≥85 Years in Canada: A Secondary Analysis of the Canadian Transitions Survey.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn recent years, authors have repeatedly reported on the significance of social support in cancer survival. Although overall the studies appear to be convincing, little is known about which types of social support promote better survival rates, and which subgroups of cancer patients are more susceptible to the benefits of it. The aim of this study was to identify, organize, and examine studies reporting on the significance of social support in cancer survival.
methodsThe PubMed, CINAHL and EBSCO databases were searched using the keywords social support/marital status, cancer, and survival/mortality. Where possible we used a meta-analytical approach, specifically a random effect model, in order to combine the results of the hazard ratios in studies from which this information could be obtained. When interpreting clinical relevance, we used the number needed to treat (NNT).
resultsBetter survival was observed in married patients when compared to unmarried (single, never-married, divorced/separated, and widowed) in overall and cancer-specific survival. Gender group differences showed that the association was statistically significant only in cancer-specific survival when comparing divorced/separated male and female cancer patients (p < 0.001), thus confirming results from the previous meta-analysis.
conclusionsBeing unmarried is associated with significantly worse overall and cancer-specific survival. The most vulnerable group found in our study were divorced/separated men. The results of this review can motivate physicians, oncologists, and other healthcare professionals to be aware of the importance of patients' social support, especially in the identified sub-group.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.