A new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society shows court-documented adverse financial events of prediagnosis bankruptcy, lien, or eviction were associated with increased risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality for multiple cancer types. The findings underscore lasting adverse consequences of patient financial vulnerability prior to incurring high out-of-pocket costs of cancer treatment. The data were presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 1519).
In the study, led by Dr. Robin Yabroff, Scientific Vice President of Health Services Research at the American Cancer Society, researchers analyzed records of adults aged 21 to 69 years diagnosed with common cancer types, including bladder, female breast, colorectal, kidney, lung and bronchus, oral cavity/pharynx, or prostate cancers or melanoma during 2014 and 2015. The individuals were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results population-based registries for Seattle, Louisiana, and Georgia. Registry data were linked with LexisNexis consumer data to identify a history of court-documented adverse financial events of bankruptcies, liens, and evictions. Vital status and cause of death were examined through December 31, 2021. Models were adjusted for stage, age, race and ethnicity, marital status, registry, registry-specific income categories, and the interaction between income and registry.
Study results showed that of 58,796 individuals diagnosed with one of the eight selected cancers, 21,694 (36.9%) had a prediagnosis adverse financial event, and there were 16,714 deaths (28.4%) during the study period. Prediagnosis adverse financial events were associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality for individuals diagnosed with female breast, colorectal, oral cavity/pharynx, and prostate cancer and early- and late-stage melanoma, in adjusted models. Prediagnosis adverse financial events were also associated with a significantly higher risk of cancer-specific mortality for these five cancers.
Researchers stress that the findings are especially timely, with growing efforts by health-care providers to screen and address patient health-related social needs as part of comprehensive oncology care.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
