SynthesisBMJ global health2025
The financial toxicity of cancer: unveiling global burden and risk factors - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Assessing Financial Toxicity in Cancer: A Global Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Using an Asset Framework.Cancer medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and determinants of financial toxicity in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal for equity in health · 2026Pooled it
- Financial toxicity among patients with breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The oncologist · 2026Pooled it
- Magnitude of catastrophic health expenditure and its determinants among cancer patients in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Constructing the scale to measure financial toxicity in cancer patients for Low-middle income countries (FT-LM) by using the modified Delphi method.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Personalized medicine, scientific revolution or self-serving illusion: viewpoint from EORTC-PAMM Group.ESMO open · 2026Review
- Residents' preference trade-offs for critical illness insurance scheme design: a discrete choice experiment in Shandong Province, China.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Impact of Lebanon's Economic Crisis on Cancer Care Delivery: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study of Treatment Initiation Delays and Incomplete Therapy.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Metabolism and Immunity-Adapted Radiotherapy (M.I.A.R): A Conceptual Framework for Overcoming the Therapeutic Plateau in Clinical Radiotherapy.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Review
- Article
- Diagnosis, care pathways, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use among digestive cancer patients in Benin: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Stage-Specific Healthcare Costs in Cervical Cancer and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Population-Based Analysis Informing Value-Based Oncology and Equitable Prevention.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Research advances in the application of betulinic acid for anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour therapy.Chinese medicine · 2026Review
- Women's experiences toward cervical cancer care at the initiation of care: a qualitative study closing the gap policy and implementation in Indonesia.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Sexual health among patients with breast cancer undergoing endocrine therapy: an integrative review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Review
- The Complosome: An Emerging Intracellular Complement Network in Cancer Development and Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Beyond drug toxicity: the hidden burden of financial toxicity in hepatocellular carcinoma.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Article
- A Comprehensive Review on the Anticancer Activity of Plant Peptides and Their Mechanisms of Action.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Economic Disparities in Palliative Care Utilization Among Cancer Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Socioeconomic Stratification Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder and social determinants of health among individuals with cancer: association with healthcare utilization and outcomes in the All of Us Research Program.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer, a major global health challenge, not only threatens lives but also imposes severe financial burdens, known as 'financial toxicity'. This strain extends beyond treatment costs to include indirect expenses like lost income and out-of-pocket payments. Despite its urgency, global insights remain fragmented, often limited to specific regions with inconsistent findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide a comprehensive overview of cancer-related financial toxicity and identify key risk factors contributing to this burden.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching databases like Medline, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, International Scientific Indexing and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed observational studies. Data were extracted into Microsoft Excel 2021, and study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA V.17, with catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) pooled via a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was explored to understand variations in study outcomes. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess individual study impacts, while publication bias was evaluated using Begger and Egger's tests. Univariate meta-regression analysis determined the impact of study-level covariates on CHE estimates.
resultsThis analysis included 35 observational studies, covering 428 373 patients with cancer. The pooled prevalence of CHE was 56.1% (95% CI 48.3% to 63.8%). Key risk factors included large family size, low income, lack of health insurance, longer disease duration, older age and multiple treatments. Higher education levels were associated with reduced CHE risk.
conclusionOver half of patients with cancer (56.1%) face catastrophic health expenditures, highlighting a severe financial burden. Addressing this issue requires expanding health insurance, providing financial support and ensuring affordable cancer care. Improving education access can also reduce CHE risk among patients with cancer.
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