Objectives: The study aim was to investigate the hypothesis that head and neck (H&N) cancer patients living alone have a greater risk of being dead one year after diagnosis than those living with their family or friends. Methods: A prospective observational study design was used with a cohort of H&N cancer patients diagnosed during an 18 month period at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Clermont Ferrand, France. Cohabitation status (living with family or friends vs. living alone), along with other known prognostic factors, was collected shortly after diagnosis. One-year survival status was collected on all subjects. The analysis of the hypothesised association between cohabitation status and one-year survival was performed using multiple logistic regression analysis, controlling for other known prognostic factors. Results: The sample size was 101. Of these, 81 reported living with their family or friends and 20 reported living alone. Fifty-one subjects were alive one-year following diagnosis, 45 were dead and 5 were lost to follow-up. Multivariate analysis was performed on data from the 96 subjects in whom one-year survival status was known. Subjects living alone had greater odds for being dead at one year compared to those living with their family (OR: 4.4; 95%CI: 1.3-15.1). Conclusions: The results of this study support findings in other cancer fields suggesting that social support is an important element in predicting one-year survival for H&N cancer patients, independent of other known prognostic factors. Supported by Cooperation France-Quebec.

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