(Press-News.org) Key Takeaways
Among 42,451 patients, 8.5% developed financial toxicity (a credit score below 600) after their diagnosis; an additional 3% were already in that category.
Patients whose credit score fell by two tiers within 12 months of diagnosis faced a 29% higher risk of death. Over any six-month period after diagnosis, a one-tier drop increased mortality risk by 12%, and a two-tier drop raised it by 63%, compared with patients whose scores stayed stable.
An increase in credit score was not found to be a protective factor against mortality.
CHICAGO — Patients with cancer whose credit scores decline after their diagnosis face a significantly higher risk of mortality, providing the first objective data linking financial health to physical survival.
The research will be presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025 in Chicago, October 4-7.
Using data from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry merged with credit bureau data (2010–2019), researchers analyzed 42,451 patients. They found that 8.5% developed financial toxicity — defined as a credit score dropping below 600 points within 1.5 years of diagnosis. An additional 3% of patients already had financial toxicity at the time of diagnosis.
Massachusetts has a health care coverage rate of 97-98%, one of the highest in the country, suggesting that the financial toxicity and associated risks observed are likely even more severe in other states, the authors note.
“Our work shows that as somebody’s credit score drops, their mortality risk increases,” said lead author Benjamin C. James, MD, MS, FACS, an -associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and chief of general surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “This gives providers one more data point to intervene upon.”
Key Findings
Mortality Link: Patients were categorized into credit score tiers. Specifically, patients who lost two tiers within a year were 29% more likely to die. In any 6-month period after diagnosis, a one-tier decline raised the odds of death by 12%, while a two-tier decline raised it by 63%. Conversely, an improvement in credit score was not found to be protective.
High-Risk Demographics: Factors like younger age (21to 44-years-old) and Black or Hispanic race were strongly associated with higher odds of developing financial toxicity.
High-Risk Socioeconomics: Being separated or divorced, having less than a college education, being a current smoker, having public insurance, and living in areas identified by the Area Deprivation Index as having >5% poverty also increased the risk.
Income Disparity: Patients with an annual income below $30,000 faced the greatest risk of financial toxicity, with 3.66 times higher odds compared to those earning $50,000-$69,000.
“The data we have to date shows a difference in access to care based on socioeconomic status. But access to care is different than showing an adverse clinical outcome as a result,” Dr. James noted. “This isn’t just about stress; it’s literally about people dying unrelated to the cancer itself or made worse by their financial toxicity.”
Co-authors are Anastasia Bogdanovski, MD; Jorge Gomez-Mayorga, MD; Rafael Martin, MD; Ashley L. O’Donoghue, PhD; Aaron Fleishman, MPH; Nishant Uppal, MD, MBA; Qing L. Hu-Bianco, MD, MS; and Katharine M. Esselen, MD, MBA.
Disclosures: The authors have no relevant disclosures.
Citation: James BC, et al. Factors Associated with Financial Toxicity in Surgical Cancer Care, Scientific Forum, American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025.
Note: This research was presented as an abstract at the ACS Clinical Congress Scientific Forum. Research abstracts presented at the ACS Clinical Congress Scientific Forum are reviewed and selected by a program committee but are not yet peer reviewed.
# # #
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The ACS is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The ACS has approximately 90,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. “FACS” designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the ACS.
Follow the ACS on social media: X | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook
END
Key Takeaways
Rapid uptake of weight loss drugs before metabolic and bariatric surgery: Between 2020 and 2024, the use of weight loss drugs before surgery rose sixteenfold among metabolic and bariatric surgery patients, highlighting their growing popularity and perceived effectiveness.
Substantial Increase Among Patients Without Diabetes: Use of GLP-1s, a class of drugs used to treat both Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, rose elevenfold in patients without diabetes, reflecting growing weight-focused ...
Key Takeaways
Almost 40% of emergency medical services calls in rural areas were for patients facing medically complex injuries compared with 26.4% nationally.
Rural patients were four times more likely to end up at trauma centers designated for less severe injuries and five times more likely to go to critical access hospitals – small, rural hospitals that provide essential care.
Call times for rural patients transported to specialty centers were more than 40 minutes longer compared with ...
Key Takeaways
In patients under 50, rectal bleeding was the strongest predictor of colorectal cancer, increasing odds by 8.5 times.
70% of young patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer had no family history of the disease.
88% of young cancer patients underwent a colonoscopy because of symptoms, not routine screening.
CHICAGO — Adults under 50 undergoing colonoscopy were found to have a dramatically higher risk of having colorectal cancer when the procedure was done for rectal bleeding. Researchers found that rectal bleeding increased the odds of a colorectal cancer diagnosis by 8.5 times, ...
Key Takeaways
From 2010 to 2020, the United States saw a net loss of 298 hospitals capable of performing surgery, a 6.36% decrease.
Of 4,688 active surgical hospitals in 2010, 784 (16.7%) closed by 2020, while only 486 new hospitals opened.
Closed hospitals were more than twice as likely to be in areas of high poverty and social vulnerability compared to hospitals that remained open.
CHICAGO — A new national study reveals that hospitals providing surgical care have closed at a significantly higher rate than new ones have opened, with closures disproportionately concentrated ...
About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, disparities in probability of premature death, defined as probability of dying before age 70, were likely to reflect major inequality in access to health-enhancing technologies and living standards, as well as context-specific obstacles. Technological and medical advancements leading to universal health benefits need to be rapidly and fairly disseminated.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Omar Karlsson, PhD, email karlssono@outlook.com.
To ...
Photos and b-roll package available for download here.
LOS ANGELES — Top-quality health care just became more accessible in Pasadena.
Keck Medicine of USC’s largest and most advanced outpatient location, located at 590 S. Fair Oaks Ave., is now open, bringing Keck Medicine’s clinical expertise, world-class services and leading-edge technology to Pasadena and neighboring communities in the San Gabriel Valley.
“USC is always looking for opportunities to extend its mission and impact,” said Beong-Soo Kim, interim president of USC. “This strategic expansion in Pasadena allows ...
Key Takeaways
Depression can make recovery from surgery more difficult in older adults who undergo procedures for colorectal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic cancers.
Antidepressants mitigate these effects, which improves surgical outcomes and lowers postoperative costs.
CHICAGO (October 3, 2025) — Depression is known to be associated with physical health challenges, in everything from disrupting sleep to an increased cancer risk. Depression can also affect ...
“We recommend that investigators carefully consider what aspects of frailty to include in their analyses instead of fully adopting the published scoring systems.”
BUFFALO, NY — October 3, 2025 — A new research perspective was published in Volume 17, Issue 9 of Aging-US on August 26, 2025, titled “Analysis of the current state of frailty indexes and their implementation for aging intervention studies.”
In this work, led by first author Oliver G. Frost from Loughborough ...
Fuel cells are an efficient, clean alternative to traditional fossil-fuel-based energy systems. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are especially attractive due to their ability to use multiple fuels, high efficiency and reversibility. Cobalt (Co)-doped rare-earth layered perovskite oxides are attractive cathode materials for low- and medium-temperature SOFCs. They offer excellent electrochemical performance, owing to their high oxygen content and flexible control of oxygen transport.
Yet, electrodes made from these materials demonstrate low long-term stability. Key strategies to ...
The COVID-19 pandemic affected people worldwide disproportionately, with economically disadvantaged households facing a heavier burden. Children were also affected since schools and classes were closed to contain the virus. Many students, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, lost their learning environments, and their academic performance suffered. However, the pandemic presented other challenges that may have also affected students, such as parents losing jobs, financial stress at home, and parents not having the option to work from home. So, it is unclear how ...
