scholarly journals Impact of Race and Health Insurance Status on Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Patients

Cureus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Ho ◽  
Alexander Harris ◽  
Michael Wesolowski ◽  
Tamer Refaat ◽  
William Small ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Insurance Status ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Insurance Status ◽  
Race And Health ◽  
Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Cancer-related financial burden among patients with metastatic breast cancer.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (30_suppl) ◽  
pp. 32-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie B. Wheeler ◽  
Jennifer Spencer ◽  
Michelle L. Manning ◽  
Cleo A. Samuel ◽  
Katherine Elizabeth Reeder-Hayes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Metastatic Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Financial Impact ◽  
Insurance Status ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Insurance Status

32 Background: Recent data suggest that the adverse financial impact of cancer is an underappreciated source of potential harm to patients, also known as “financial toxicity”. Little is known about the financial impact of cancer in patients with widespread, incurable disease, despite the relatively high cost of their care. We conducted a national survey of patients with metastatic breast cancer to address this gap. Methods: We partnered with the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network to field an online survey of metastatic breast cancer patients over a fourteen-day period using Qualtrics. The survey required approximately 20 minutes to complete, and participants were offered a $10 Amazon gift card. Survey items included sociodemographic information, health insurance status, cost-related communication with providers, post-treatment financial burden, financial coping strategies, and emotional well-being. We report financial outcomes stratified by health insurance status, as insurance is an important protective mechanism against health-related financial shocks. Results: 1,513 participants responded from 41 states. More than a third of these women (35%) were uninsured. Uninsured individuals more often reported refusing or delaying treatment due to cost (98% vs. 41% of insured, p < .001) and were also more likely to report skipping non-medical bills (40% vs. 16%, p < .001), stopping work after diagnosis (65% vs. 46%, p < .001), or being contacted by a collections agency (77% vs. 36%, p < .001). Despite this, insured participants reported higher cost-related emotional distress, including being “quite a bit” or “very” stressed about not knowing cancer costs (53% vs. 32%, p < .001) and about financial stress on their family due to their cancer (52% vs. 27%, p < .001). Conclusions: Metastatic breast cancer patients reported an unprecedented level of cancer-related financial harm and significant worry about the financial legacy left behind in the wake of their illness. Health insurance expansion is a necessary, but insufficient strategy to address this financial burden; additional interventions to prevent and mitigate cancer-related financial harm are urgently needed.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Obesity and Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Among Women With Operable Breast Cancer

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (25) ◽  
pp. 4072-4077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Litton ◽  
Ana M. Gonzalez-Angulo ◽  
Carla L. Warneke ◽  
Aman U. Buzdar ◽  
Shu-Wan Kau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Overall Survival ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Pathologic Complete Response ◽  
Operable Breast Cancer ◽  
Obese Patients ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Purpose To understand the mechanism through which obesity in breast cancer patients is associated with poorer outcome, we evaluated body mass index (BMI) and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) in women with operable breast cancer. Patients and Methods From May 1990 to July 2004, 1,169 patients were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and received NC before surgery. Patients were categorized as obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), overweight (BMI of 25 to < 30 kg/m2), or normal/underweight (BMI < 25 kg/m2). Logistic regression was used to examine associations between BMI and pathologic complete response (pCR). Breast cancer–specific, progression-free, and overall survival times were examined using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results Median age was 50 years; 30% of patients were obese, 32% were overweight, and 38% were normal or underweight. In multivariate analysis, there was no significant difference in pCR for obese compared with normal weight patients (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.49 to 1.26). Overweight and the combination of overweight and obese patients were significantly less likely to have a pCR (OR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.95; and OR = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.99, respectively). Obese patients were more likely to have hormone-negative tumors (P < .01), stage III tumors (P < .01), and worse overall survival (P = .006) at a median follow-up time of 4.1 years. Conclusion Higher BMI was associated with worse pCR to NC. In addition, its association with worse overall survival suggests that greater attention should be focused on this risk factor to optimize the care of breast cancer patients.

Ultrasound-based prediction of pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

The Breast ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annina Baumgartner ◽  
Christoph Tausch ◽  
Stefanie Hosch ◽  
Bärbel Papassotiropoulos ◽  
Zsuzsanna Varga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Pathologic Response ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Response To Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document