ArticleThe oncologist2013
The financial toxicity of cancer treatment: a pilot study assessing out-of-pocket expenses and the insured cancer patient's experience.
Article in The oncologist, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 588 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Short Course Adjuvant Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy (VCB) in Early Endometrial Cancer Compared to Standard of Care (SAVE)
Characterizing and Addressing Financial Toxicity in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer
Efficacy of Structured SOcial COnsultation and Support in Reducing the FINancial Burden of Radiotherapy
Leveraging COmmunity Partnered nEeds Navigation to Reduce Unmet Health-related Social Needs Among Caregivers for Adolescent and Younger Adult Cancer Survivors
Who cites it
588 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,082 citations in OpenAlex.
- Self-management behavior of children with cancer based on behavioral economics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, version 3.0.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Guideline
- A systematic review of financial toxicity measurement instruments for cancer patients based on the COSMIN guideline.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Pooled it
- Towards the assessment of financial distress among cancer patients: a conceptual model of the financial effects of a tumour disease.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- From economic burden to patient-centered solutions: the evolving landscape of financial toxicity in oncology.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Psychological distress among cancer patients in African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.BMC psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Measuring financial toxicity in head and neck cancer: a systematic review.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2024Pooled it
- Subjective and objective financial toxicity among colorectal cancer patients: a systematic review.BMC cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of socioeconomic status on enrollment in clinical trials for cancer: A systematic review.Cancer medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of gynecologic cancer.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2023Guideline
- Financial Toxicity in a Phase I/II Trial of LV20.19 CAR-T Cell for B-cell Malignancies: A Longitudinal, Qualitative Study.Transplantation and cellular therapy · 2026Trial
- Financial hardship experience in middle- and older-aged patients with advanced lung cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- Health services research and advocacy in US cancer care: pathways from evidence to implementation.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Review
- Inequities in enrollment across clinical trial phases and the need for a Spanish perspective.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- Assessing financial toxicity with COST-FACIT: experience from a tertiary care cancer center.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Baseline Financial Toxicity and Cost-Coping Mechanisms Among Patients Presenting for Radiation Therapy.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Financial Toxicity Among Sarcoma Patients During and Following Treatment Across the Lifespan.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Financial toxicity among US adults with rheumatic disease and prior cancer: a nationally representative cross-sectional study.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Beyond tumor response: hope and decision regret during immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Welfare Regimes and Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Spending in the Last Year of Life Among Cancer Decedents in Europe and Israel.Cancers · 2026Article
528 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeCancer patients carry rising burdens of health care-related out-of-pocket expenses, and a growing number of patients are considered "underinsured." Our objective was to describe experiences of insured cancer patients requesting copayment assistance and to describe the impact of health care expenses on well-being and treatment.
methodsWe conducted baseline and follow-up surveys regarding the impact of health care costs on well-being and treatment among cancer patients who contacted a national copayment assistance foundation along with a comparison sample of patients treated at an academic medical center.
resultsAmong 254 participants, 75% applied for drug copayment assistance. Forty-two percent of participants reported a significant or catastrophic subjective financial burden; 68% cut back on leisure activities, 46% reduced spending on food and clothing, and 46% used savings to defray out-of-pocket expenses. To save money, 20% took less than the prescribed amount of medication, 19% partially filled prescriptions, and 24% avoided filling prescriptions altogether. Copayment assistance applicants were more likely than nonapplicants to employ at least one of these strategies to defray costs (98% vs. 78%). In an adjusted analysis, younger age, larger household size, applying for copayment assistance, and communicating with physicians about costs were associated with greater subjective financial burden.
conclusionInsured patients undergoing cancer treatment and seeking copayment assistance experience considerable subjective financial burden, and they may alter their care to defray out-of-pocket expenses. Health insurance does not eliminate financial distress or health disparities among cancer patients. Future research should investigate coverage thresholds that minimize adverse financial outcomes and identify cancer patients at greatest risk for financial toxicity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.