Overview
- Using SEER cancer registries from 12 states and ACS population counts, the peer-reviewed study covering 4.24 million cases found overall incidence 68% higher in never-married men and 83% higher in never-married women than in ever-married adults.
- Age patterns showed widening gaps with advancing years, peaking at ages 70 to 74 when incidence in never-married adults was roughly double.
- Racial differences were sharpest for Black men, who showed the highest relative rates among men, while women in every racial and ethnic group had similarly high relative rates.
- The largest gaps appeared in cancers tied to HPV, tobacco, or reproductive factors, including anal, cervical, esophageal, ovarian, uterine, liver, lung, and colorectal cancers.
- Authors caution that marital status was recorded only at diagnosis and that the data lacked individual details like smoking, income, or education, so the findings show correlation rather than causation.