Prostate cancer patients face financial toxicity: Who is affected and how do they cope?

New insights into financial impact on patients with advanced prostate cancer in The Journal of Urology®

2023-07-07

(Press-News.org) July 7, 2023 – Fifty percent of patients with metastatic prostate cancer experience some level of financial hardship due to their treatment, according to a study in the August issue of The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

"Our findings help in understanding the rates of and risk factors for financial toxicity among patients with advanced prostate cancer, along with the coping mechanisms, including the impact on personal spending, experienced by those reporting higher levels of financial toxicity," comments senior author Stephen A. Boorjian, MD, of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

"Our most significant finding may be that patients experience financial toxicity despite their ability to remain compliant with treatment," says lead author Daniel D. Joyce, MD. "Simply asking patients whether they are following their suggested treatments is not sufficient to screen for financial toxicity."

New data on financial toxicity rates, risk factors, and coping strategies

The researchers administered a validated questionnaire concerning financial toxicity to all patients seen at their advanced prostate cancer clinic over a three-month period. Financial toxicity – which has been defined as "the harm to patients that results from treatment costs" – has become recognized as important patient-centered outcome. Previous reports suggest that up to half of cancer survivors are affected by financial toxicity, which has been linked to increased rates of adverse treatment outcomes.

Drs. Joyce and Boorjian and colleagues assessed the rate of financial toxicity and the related patient characteristics and coping strategies among patients being treated for metastatic prostate cancer. The analysis included responses from 281 patients, median age 69 years.

Based on the study questionnaire, 79 patients were classified as having high financial toxicity. Overall, 54% of patients said they experienced at least some level of financial hardship related to their cancer treatment. The impact was "more profound" among patients with high financial toxicity, with 89% percent reporting financial hardship.

Patients may make 'profound personal sacrifices' to remain compliant with prostate cancer treatments

Several patient characteristics were associated with higher or lower risks of financial toxicity. Older patients had lower financial toxicity, as each additional year of age was associated with a 25% reduction in risk. For patients who were married (or had a non-married partner), financial toxicity risk was nearly four times lower than for those who were unmarried, widowed, or divorced. Not surprisingly, income was a significant factor: risk of financial toxicity was nine times lower for patients with annual incomes of $100,000, compared to incomes under $20,000.

Patients experiencing high financial toxicity coped in varied ways. They were more likely to decrease spending on basic goods and leisure activities, to use their savings to pay for medical care, to delay filling prescriptions, and to borrow money to pay for their care. "Notably, very few patients reported only partially filling medications or stopping medications altogether due to cost," the researchers write.

More than half of patients with high financial toxicity reported difficulty paying bills – and patients in this group were more likely to have delays in starting cancer treatment. Patients with high financial toxicity were also more likely to use financial assistance programs: 32%, compared to 12% of those with low financial toxicity. "Patients are often unable to meet the high treatment initiation costs without some type of financial assistance program or subsidy," the researchers write.

Dr. Joyce comments: "Some patients may be making profound personal sacrifices in order remain adherent with their prostate cancer treatment, which may have a significant impact on the quality of life that we hope to prolong with these treatments. Conversations about these issues are even more crucial given the observed improvement in financial toxicity among patients in our study who were able to access financial assistance programs."

The researchers highlight the need to identify factors that may mitigate the financial impact of treatments for metastatic prostate cancer. They conclude: "Such data are crucial to understand how to include financial toxicity in shared decision-making and to guide future interventions designed to reduce financial toxicity in this population."

Read [Coping Mechanisms for Financial Toxicity Among Patients With Metastatic Prostate Cancer: A Survey-based Assessment]

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.

###

About The Journal of Urology®

The Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA), and the most widely read and highly cited journal in the field, The Journal of Urology® brings solid coverage of the clinically relevant content needed to stay at the forefront of the dynamic field of urology. This premier journal presents investigative studies on critical areas of research and practice, survey articles providing brief editorial comments on the best and most important urology literature worldwide and practice-oriented reports on significant clinical observations. The Journal of Urology® covers the wide scope of urology, including pediatric urology, urologic cancers, renal transplantation, male infertility, urinary tract stones, female urology and neurourology.

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 23,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy. To learn more about the AUA visit: www.auanet.org

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of €5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Cancer’s origin story features predictable plot line, Stanford Medicine researchers find

2023-07-07

Cancer cells-to-be accumulate a series of specific genetic changes in a predictable and sequential way years before they are identifiable as pre-malignancies, researchers at Stanford Medicine have found. Many of these changes affect pathways that control cell division, structure and internal messaging — leaving the cells poised to go bad long before any visible signs or symptoms occur. The study is the first to exhaustively observe the natural evolution of the earliest stages of human cancers, starting with ...

A novel chromosomal abnormality in AML patient: Case report and literature review

2023-07-07

“Here we report an unusual association of t (5; 17) with t (8; 21) in AML and we try to discuss the prognosis of this association and then the treatment.” BUFFALO, NY- July 7, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Genes & Cancer on June 28, 2023, entitled, “A novel t (5; 17) (q35; q21) associated with t (8; 21) (q22; q22) in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia: case report and review of literature.” The t (8; 21) (q22; q22) with the resulting RUNX1- RUNX1T1 rearrangement is one of the most common cytogenetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It is associated with a favorable prognosis. The t (5; 17) (q35; q21) is an ...

Art that integrates data visualizations can help bridge the US political divide over climate change

2023-07-07

MADISON – Communicating science to a general audience can be challenging. Successfully conveying research on polarizing topics such as climate change can be even more difficult. But a new study from University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Nan Li shows that intentionally integrating art with data visualizations can help non-expert audiences more meaningfully engage with climate change while also bridging political divides in ways that data alone cannot. In fact, data graphs on their own can exacerbate political division on climate change. As an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication, Li studies how innovative visual representations of science ...

Expanding Medicaid improved care without crowding out other patients

2023-07-07

People with low incomes who live in states that expanded Medicaid got more of the kind of health care that can keep them healthier in the long run, compared with similar people in non-expansion states, a new study finds. They also received more health care overall, specifically clinic visits. But they didn’t crowd out patients covered by Medicare or private insurance such as from an employer, the study finds. Those groups continued to have clinic visits and receive preventive care at the same rate ...

nTIDE June 2023 Jobs Report: Employment hovers around all-time highs for people with disabilities

2023-07-07

East Hanover, NJ – July 7, 2023 – June’s job numbers remained around all-time highs for people with disabilities, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment – semi-monthly update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). nTIDE experts cautioned that employment of people with disabilities may be negatively affected by further anti-inflationary efforts by the Federal Reserve. Month-to-Month nTIDE Numbers (comparing May 2023 to June 2023) Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) ...

Soft tissue restoration, blood vessel formation focus of $3M grant

2023-07-07

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The ability to regenerate and pattern blood vessels, the literal lifelines extending deep into soft tissues, remains an elusive milestone in regenerative medicine. Known as tissue revascularization, stimulating blood vessel growth and pattern formation in damaged or diseased tissues could accelerate the field of regenerative medicine, according to Penn State researchers. With a four-year, $3 million grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Penn State chemical engineering and reconstructive surgery researchers plan to develop a new way to help restore soft tissue loss in patients ...

Learning the language of molecules to predict their properties

2023-07-07

Discovering new materials and drugs typically involves a manual, trial-and-error process that can take decades and cost millions of dollars. To streamline this process, scientists often use machine learning to predict molecular properties and narrow down the molecules they need to synthesize and test in the lab. Researchers from MIT and the MIT-Watson AI Lab have developed a new, unified framework that can simultaneously predict molecular properties and generate new molecules much more efficiently ...

Previously unidentified proteins suggest new way to diagnose ovarian cancer

2023-07-07

A study led by Nagoya University in Japan has identified three previously unknown membrane proteins in ovarian cancer. Using a unique technology consisting of nanowires with a polyketone coating, the group succeeded in capturing the proteins, demonstrating a new detection method for identification of ovarian cancer. The discovery of new biomarkers is important for detecting ovarian cancer, as the disease is difficult to detect in its early stages where it can most easily be treated. One ...

Uncovering secrets of plant regeneration

2023-07-07

Ikoma, Japan – Plants have the unique ability to regenerate entirely from a somatic cell, i.e., an ordinary cell that does not typically participate in reproduction. This process involves the de novo (or new) formation of a shoot apical meristem (SAM) that gives rise to lateral organs, which are key for the plant’s reconstruction. At the cellular level, SAM formation is tightly regulated by either positive or negative regulators (genes/protein molecules) that may induce or restrict shoot regeneration, respectively. But which molecules are involved? Are there other regulatory layers that are yet to be uncovered? To seek answers to the above questions, a research group led by Nara ...

CT with CTA versus MRI in patients with dizziness

2023-07-07

Leesburg, VA, July 7, 2023—According to an accepted manuscript published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) after CT with CTA alone could have benefitted from an alternative or additional MRI evaluation, including using a specialized abbreviated protocol for the modality. Compared with those patients discharged after CT with CTA only, “the use of MRI in select patients presenting to the ED with dizziness was associated with greater frequency of critical neuroimaging results, greater use of echocardiography, ...