Background/Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess patients' use of a crowdfunding platform to raise funds for radiation treatment and to better understand the direct and indirect costs associated with treatments. Materials and Methods: The GoFundMe crowdfunding database was queried for four unique categories related to radiation treatment campaigns. Covariates identified included clinical and demographic variables, and associations between amount raised and these predictors were analyzed using a generalized linear model. Results: While 56% percent of campaigns cited direct costs associated with treatment, 73.4% of campaigns cited indirect costs related to treatment. Indirect expenses related to travel (31.7%) as well as living expenses (29.2%) were cited most often across all four treatment categories. Conclusion: This study enhances understanding regarding patients use of crowdfunding for radiation treatment. Increased focus should be placed on discussing the indirect costs of care with patients and their families.The United States has observed a promising trend in increased cancer survival with improved screening protocols, advanced medical technologies, and the development of targeted radiation and other treatments (1, 2). These advancements increased cancer survivorship on the world stage (3). However, the "financial toxicity", or exorbitant cost of cancer care in the United States, has increased at a substantial rate. (1) A study characterized the financial toxicity of cancer care for over 9.5 million newly diagnosed Americans over the age of 50 and found 42% of patients reported fully depleting their assets by the second year of their diagnosis (4). Patients, already dealing with the emotional and physical toll of a cancer diagnosis, may resort to radical lifestyle changes that include decreased food spending, selling their possessions and property, borrowing money from others, and declaring bankruptcy due to treatment expenses and the associated costs of treatment (5).When compared with the cost of chemotherapy and pharmaceutical therapy in cancer care, radiation treatment is a relatively cost-effective modality that accounts for less than ten percent of the total costs of cancer care (6, 7). Yet, approximately half of all patients with cancer will receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment course (6), and the cost of radiation therapy in the United States may contribute to financial toxicity for patients and families (8). Furthermore, distinct forms of radiation therapy may have substantially different costs associated with treatment. Considering the financial toxicity of cancer therapy and the personal life changes that may occur as a result, patients and families have begun to use crowdfunding sources as an avenue to fund treatments and the expenses associated with cancer care. Despite its popular use, much is not known regarding patient and family use of crowdfunding platforms in order to fund cancer treatment. Few studies to date have performed an indepth analysis of crowdfunding platf...
The safety and efficacy of various pharmacotherapeutic regimens on refractory meningiomas have been the focus of investigations. We present a comprehensive review of the previous efforts and the current state of ongoing clinical trials. A PRISMA-compliant review of the MEDLINE and ClinicalTrial.gov databases of the National Library of Medicine were performed. The primary outcomes of interest for included articles were radiographic response, overall survival, progression-free survival, six-month progression-free survival, and adverse events. Overall, 34 completed trials and 27 ongoing clinical trials were eligible. Six-month progression-free survival was reported in 6–100% of patients in the completed studies. Hematological disorders were the most common adverse events. Of the ongoing clinical trials identified, nine studies are phase I clinical trials, eleven are phase II trials, two are phase I and II trials, one is phase II and III, and two trials do not have a designated phase. Currently, there is no effective chemotherapy for refractory or recurrent meningiomas. Several promising targeted agents have been developed and are currently being investigated in the hope of identifying novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this pathology.
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