Evaluating Financial Distress Among Patients With Genitourinary Cancer

A study conducted by Laura Bukavina, MD, MPH, MSc, and colleagues published in JCO Oncology Practice investigated financial distress across genitourinary (GU) cancer survivors, with a focus on prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers.

Researchers focused on the economic impact of disparities related to insurance coverage and its associations with the material, psychological, and behavioral elements of financial distress. They noted that financial distress included subjective difficulties faced by patients, including emotional and psychological struggles.

The retrospective study reviewed the data of GU cancer survivors and analyzed the material, psychological, and behavioral effects of medical financial hardship. They determined the relationship between cancer history, hardship, and clinical factors through generalized ordinal logistic regressions.

The data were collected from the National Health Interview Survey, which gathers information across 45,000 US households.

Dr. Bukovina and colleagues found significant health care access disparities, with 25.0% of younger bladder cancer survivors and 4.7% of younger kidney cancer survivors noting affordability troubles, compared with 2.7% of noncancer individuals. Researchers reported heightened disparities in mental health services.

When contrasted with noncancer individuals, younger kidney (15%) and bladder (27%) cancer survivors demonstrated increased rates of dental care avoidance. Investigators noted that bladder cancer survivors across all age groups had an easier time affording prescriptions than noncancer individuals.

Compared with the general population, prostate cancer survivors experienced lower financial distress, which Dr. Bukovina and colleagues said led to “fewer concerns about medical bills and a lesser tendency to forgo care.”

“The study underscores significant gaps in the financial support system for GU cancer survivors, with urgent needs in mental and dental health care access,” the researchers wrote. “Policy interventions, including comprehensive insurance reforms, are imperative to alleviate the financial burdens on these individuals.”