Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar;30(3):2713-2721.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-021-06697-6. Epub 2021 Nov 25.

Patient-reported benefit from proposed interventions to reduce financial toxicity during cancer treatment

Emeline M Aviki  1   2 , Bridgette Thom  3 , Kenya Braxton  4 , Andrew J Chi  4 , Beryl Manning-Geist  4 , Fumiko Chino  5 , Carol L Brown  4   6 , Nadeem R Abu-Rustum  4   6 , Francesca M Gany  7
Affiliations

Patient-reported benefit from proposed interventions to reduce financial toxicity during cancer treatment

Emeline M Aviki et al. Support Care Cancer. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Financial toxicity is common and pervasive among cancer patients. Research suggests that gynecologic cancer patients experiencing financial toxicity are at increased risk for engaging in harmful cost-coping strategies, including delaying/skipping treatment because of costs, or forsaking basic needs to pay medical bills. However, little is known about patients' preferences for interventions to address financial toxicity.

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys to assess financial toxicity [Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST)], cost-coping strategies, and preferences for intervention were conducted in a gynecologic cancer clinic waiting room. Associations with cost-coping were determined using multivariate modeling. Unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) explored associations between financial toxicity and intervention preferences.

Results: Among 89 respondents, median COST score was 31.9 (IQR: 21-38); 35% (N = 30) scored < 26, indicating they were experiencing financial toxicity. Financial toxicity was significantly associated with cost-coping (adjusted OR = 3.32 95% CI: 1.08, 14.34). Intervention preferences included access to transportation vouchers (38%), understanding treatment costs up-front (35%), minimizing wait times (33%), access to free food at appointments (25%), and assistance with minimizing/eliminating insurance deductibles (23%). In unadjusted analyses, respondents experiencing financial toxicity were more likely to select transportation assistance (OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.04, 6.90), assistance with co-pays (OR = 9.17, 95% CI: 2.60, 32.26), and assistance with deductibles (OR = 12.20, 95% CI: 3.47, 43.48), than respondents not experiencing financial toxicity.

Conclusions: Our findings confirm the presence of financial toxicity in gynecologic cancer patients, describe how patients attempt to cope with financial hardship, and provide insight into patients' needs for targeted interventions to mitigate the harm of financial toxicity.

Keywords: Financial toxicity; Gynecologic cancer; Healthcare costs; Outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Frequency of strategy use and intervention preferences
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gordon LG, Merollini KMD, Lowe A, Chan RJ. A Systematic Review of Financial Toxicity Among Cancer Survivors: We Can’t Pay the Co-Pay. Patient. Jun 2017;10(3):295–309. doi:10.1007/s40271-016-0204-x - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Cancer Institute. Financial Toxicity (Financial Distress) and Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version. 2021. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/managing-care/track-care-costs/finan... - PubMed
    1. Altice CK, Banegas MP, Tucker-Seeley RD, Yabroff KR. Financial Hardships Experienced by Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review. J Natl Cancer Inst. Feb 2017;109(2)doi:10.1093/jnci/djw205 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zafar SY, Abernethy AP. Financial toxicity, Part I: a new name for a growing problem. Research Support, Non-U S Gov’t. Oncology. 2013;27(2):80–1. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pak TY, Kim H, Kim KT. The long-term effects of cancer survivorship on household assets. Health Econ Rev. Jan 13 2020;10(1):2. doi:10.1186/s13561-019-0253-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources