Impact of marital status on prostate cancer-specific mortality and overall mortality after radical prostatectomy

73 Background: Analysis from population-based cancer registry data has suggested that being married is associated with improved survival in men with prostate cancer. However, a limitation of such analysis is the inability to control for PSA or medical comorbidity which may differ by marital status. We investigated the association between marital status and both prostate cancer specific mortality (PCSM) and overall mortality (OM) in men treated with radical prostatectomy. Methods: The study population included 3596 men treated with radical prostatectomy at a single institution between 1994 and 2004 and followed for a median of 72 months. Disease specific factors (PSA, clinical stage, and biopsy Gleason grade), comorbidity (validated ACE-27 comorbidity index), ethnicity, age, and marital status at time of treatment were retrieved from an institutional cancer registry. Differences between marital status groups were evaluated by Chi square or ANOVA. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of PCSM and OM by marital status. Results: 86.9% of men were married, 5.3% divorced, 2.4% widowed, and 5.5% never married. Marital status was associated with differences in PSA (p Conclusions: Never married men had an increased risk of PCSM and OM. Factors associated with social isolation or unhealthy behaviors may have a detrimental effect on survival after prostatectomy. [Table: see text]