Gwen Sprehn of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis analyzed data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database, a population-based U.S. cancer registry.
The researchers assessed the 5- and 10-year survival rates of 3.79 million patients diagnosed with cancer from 1973-2004.
The study, published online ahead of print in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Cancer, finds that married patients had the highest 5- and 10-year survival rates, at 63.3 percent and 57.5 percent respectively.
Specifically, the 5- and 10-year survival rates for separated patients were 45.4 percent and 36.8 percent respectively. The 5- and 10-year survival rates of widowed patients were the next lowest, at 47.2 percent and 40.9 percent respectively; for divorced patients, the respective survival rates were 52.4 percent and 45.6 percent; and for never married patients, they were 57.3 percent and 51.7 percent.
The study authors hypothesized that the stress of separation may compromise the immune system and thus create a greater vulnerability to cancer, but said additional research is needed.
