Living alone and mortality risk in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Living alone has become increasingly prevalent across the globe, but its association with all-cause mortality among cancer patients remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the relationship between living alone and all-cause mortality risk in cancer patients. METHODS: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Ovid Medline was performed up to July 10, 2026. We included cohort studies that reported adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality comparing cancer patients living alone with those not living alone. Pooled estimates were calculated using an inverse-variance random-effects model. RESULTS: Twenty-one cohort studies comprising 2,497,397 cancer patients (55.6% female) were included. Compared with patients not living alone, those living alone had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.13-1.32). In sex-specific analyses, the pooled HR was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.23-1.45) for men and 1.15(95% CI: 1.00-1.32) for women, with no statistically significant subgroup difference (p = 0.06), indicating no clear sex difference in this association. CONCLUSION: Living alone is associated with increased all-cause mortality in cancer patients, with no apparent sex difference. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2024-10-0051/, identifier INPLASY2024100051.