Financial toxicity in cancer care

Abstract

The cost of cancer care is increasing, with important implications for the delivery of high-quality, patent-centered care. In the clinical setting, patents and physicians express a desire to discuss out-of-pocket costs. Nevertheless, both groups feel inadequately prepared to participate in these discussions, and perhaps not surprisingly, the integration of these discussions into clinical practice seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The resulting neglect of financial issues has the potential to cause unnecessary suffering for oncology patents. In this paper, we review the most relevant literature on financial toxicity in cancer care. In addition, we discuss potential predictors of financial toxicity, and the recent development of instruments to help clinicians and researchers quantify financial burden.

Keywords: cost of care; cost-effectiveness; financial toxicity; out-of-pocket costs.