PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Out-of-pocket costs play major role in treatment adherence for cancer patients

2014-01-07
(Press-News.org) Contact information: William Davis
william_davis@med.unc.edu
919-966-5906
University of North Carolina Health Care
Out-of-pocket costs play major role in treatment adherence for cancer patients

The cost of insurance co-payments for cutting-edge pharmaceuticals can vary widely from patient to patient. When the patient's share of prescription costs becomes too high, many patients skip doses or stop taking medication entirely, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina.

Using data from health plan claims for the anti-cancer drug imatinib filed between 2002 to 2011, Stacie B. Dusetzina, PhD, research professor at the UNC School of Medicine and Gillings School of Global Public Health and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that patients with higher co-payments were 70 percent more likely to stop taking their cancer treatment and 42 percent more likely to skip doses. The study, published by the Journal of Clinical Oncology is one of the first to examine the effect of high out-of-pocket drug costs for targeted cancer therapies on patients.

Dusetzina, along with colleagues from UNC, Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, used health plan claims from privately-insured adult patients (ages 18 to 64) from 2002 and 2011 to examine the relationship between out-of-pocket costs for imatinib, marketed under the trade name Gleevec in the United States, and patient adherence. The data showed that insurance co-payments for imatinib ranged from nothing to $4,792 for a 30-day supply of the medicine, with the costs increasing over the study years.

Imatinib is one of the major success stories of modern pharmaceutical development. Before the development of the drug, a patient with the white blood cell cancer chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) had a grim prognosis, with only 30 percent surviving more than five years after diagnosis.

With the advent of imatinib, the five-year survival rate rises to 89 percent so long as patients adhere to the prescribed treatment plan. Evidence suggests that patients missing even 15 percent of prescribed doses can relapse, as the cancer develops resistance to the drug.

"Imatinib is an expensive drug, but it is a great example of a drug where there is not a lot of confusion about which patients will benefit. Most patients with CML will benefit. However, individuals need to take it almost perfectly, and not taking it can have severe medical consequences," said Dusetzina. "So maximizing adherence is crucial."

The data used in the study only included patients on employer-based plans. Most individuals had low out-of-pocket costs - the most common cost was $30 for a 30 day supply, but copayments and co-insurance amounts required of patients varied substantially.

"We studied people who are part of large employer groups, so their insurance is probably more generous than someone who is buying insurance on a private market that does not have a lot of negotiating power," said Dusetzina.

Monthly co-payments for imatinib from patients in data used by the study averaged $55 in 2002 and $145 in 2012, with 6.4 percent paying more than $500 a month. The combined monthly costs of the drug to the insurance company and patient increased from 2,798 to $4,892 over the same period. The data did not include patients who were not able to afford to pay to begin taking the drug, which leads Dusetzina to believe that the study underestimates the effects of drug costs on adherence.

"If you went to the pharmacy to obtain your prescription and they said it was $5,000 and you walked away because you couldn't afford to pay, you're not in the data; we could only study individuals who filled at least one prescription," said Dusetzina.

Dusetzina said that the data has implications beyond imatinib. The cost of many new pharmaceuticals for rare conditions can cost insurers and patients more than $100,000 year.

"Our results are particularly relevant for specialty pharmaceutical products, those that cost over $10,000 a month, however, the lessons learned likely relate to any pharmaceutical product that has high out of pocket costs," said Dusetzina. "It is important that we identify strategies to make effective but expensive medications more affordable to patients."



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NASA's Fermi makes first gamma-ray study of a gravitational lens

2014-01-07
NASA's Fermi makes first gamma-ray study of a gravitational lens

Ear tubes vs. watchful waiting: Tubes do not improve long-term development

2014-01-07
Ear tubes vs. watchful waiting: Tubes do not improve long-term development Watchful waiting or ear tube surgery? It is a decision faced by millions of families of children with recurrent or chronic otitis media with effusion (non-infected ...

Including women on convening committees increases women speakers at scientific meetings

2014-01-07
Including women on convening committees increases women speakers at scientific meetings Women are currently underrepresented among speakers at scientific meetings, both in absolute terms and relative to their representation among attendees, but a new study suggests ...

'Traffic light' food labels, positioning of healthy items produce lasting choice changes

2014-01-07
'Traffic light' food labels, positioning of healthy items produce lasting choice changes The use of color-coded "traffic light" food labels and changes in the way popular items are displayed appear to have produced a long-term increase in the choice ...

Boost careers of female scientists: Make sure women help choose meeting speakers

2014-01-07
Boost careers of female scientists: Make sure women help choose meeting speakers January 7, 2014 — (BRONX, NY) — More women are choosing science careers, yet women are notoriously underrepresented in senior academic positions—often because they ...

Similar characteristics of brain DTI for healthy adult rhesus monkey and young people

2014-01-06
Similar characteristics of brain DTI for healthy adult rhesus monkey and young people Diffusion-tensor imaging can be used to observe the microstructure of brain tissue. Fractional anisotropy reflects the integrity of white matter fibers. Fractional anisotropy of ...

Mannotriose promotes survival of hippocampal neurons

2014-01-06
Mannotriose promotes survival of hippocampal neurons The main component of the Chinese herb Rehmannia, mannotriose, can improve learning and memory. Dr. Lina Zhang and colleagues from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China used 1 × 10 mol/L ...

Gabapentin inhibits central sensitization during migraine

2014-01-06
Gabapentin inhibits central sensitization during migraine Gabapentin is a gamma-aminobutyric acid derivative, and was approved for the treatment of neuropathic pain by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002. However, little evidence is available on the effects ...

A single-domain antibody that specifically recognizes amyloid-beta 42 oligomers

2014-01-06
A single-domain antibody that specifically recognizes amyloid-beta 42 oligomers Earlier amyloid-beta assemblies may be one of the most important causes of Alzheimer's disease. Passive immunization of anti-amyloid-beta antibodies can reduce amyloid-beta burden and ...

Intraoperative monitoring of SSEPs is a new measure to avoid iatrogenic spinal cord injury

2014-01-06
Intraoperative monitoring of SSEPs is a new measure to avoid iatrogenic spinal cord injury Currently intraoperative monitoring using somatosensory evoked potentials has been widely recognized to prevent iatrogenic spinal cord injury. Previous studies only reported ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Out-of-pocket costs play major role in treatment adherence for cancer patients