Our analysis suggests that hematologic oncologists need better clinical markers for when to initiate EOL care. In addition, current quality measures may be inappropriate for identifying overly aggressive care for patients with blood cancers. Further research is needed to develop effective interventions to improve EOL care for this patient population.

Although hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only curative therapy for many advanced hematologic cancers, little is known about the financial hardship experienced by HCT patients, nor the association of hardship with patient-reported outcomes. We mailed a 43-item survey to adult patients approximately 180 days post first autologous or allogeneic HCT at three high-volume centers. We assessed decreases in household income, difficulty with HCT-related costs such as need to relocate or travel, and two types of hardship: “hardship_1” (reporting one or two of the following: dissatisfaction with present finances, difficulty meeting monthly bill payments, or not having enough money at the end of the month), and “hardship_2” (reporting all three). Patient-reported stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), and seven-point scales were provided for perceptions of overall quality of life (QOL) and health. 325 of 499 surveys (65.1%) were received. The median days since HCT was 173; 47% underwent an allogeneic HCT, 60% were male, 51% were > 60 years old, and 92% were white. Overall, 46% reported income decline post-HCT, 56% reported “hardship_1” and 15% “hardship 2.” In multivariable models controlling for income, those reporting difficulty paying for HCT-related costs were more likely to report financial hardship (OR 6.9 [3.8, 12.3]). “Hardship_1” was associated with QOL below the median (OR 2.9 [1.7, 4.9]), health status below the median (OR 2.2 [1.3, 3.6]), and stress above the median (OR 2.1 [1.3, 3.5]). In this sizable cohort of HCT patients, financial hardship was prevalent, and associated with worse QOL and higher levels of perceived stress. Interventions to address patient financial hardship—especially those that ameliorate HCT-specific costs—are likely to improve patient-reported outcomes.

Purpose-The United States does not have universal paid family and medical leave. We examine the direct effects of access to paid leave on patient-reported health, quality of life, and perceived stress of employed patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to treat advanced blood cancer as well as the indirect effects through reductions in the financial burden that patients face.Methods-Our cross-sectional observational study took place at three US transplantation centers in 2014 and 2015. All English-speaking cancer patients six-month post-BMT were mailed a 43item survey assessing financial situation, employer benefits and patient-reported health outcomes. The sample includes the 171 respondents who were employed at the time of BMT.Results-Seemingly unrelated regression analysis confirms that patient access to paid leave was associated with reductions in all three measures of financial burden and lower levels of financial hardship were related with improved health, quality of life and perceived stress outcomes. For selfreported health and perceived stress outcomes all of the effects of patient paid leave operate indirectly through reductions in financial burden. For quality of life outcomes, there is both a direct effect (over 80%) of paid leave and an indirect effect through reduction of financial burden.

No abstract

Background: Financial burden during cancer treatment is associated with compromised patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Being aware of impending costs may help preserve affected PROs during treatment, as patients can adjust their financial expectations. We aimed to determine if the relationship between financial burden and PROs differs among those who were aware versus unaware of transplant-related costs before hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for hematologic malignancy. Methods: In 2015, we administered a mailed survey to adult patients at least 150 days after autologous or allogeneic HCT at three centers: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Mayo Clinic Arizona. We assessed pre-treatment awareness of transplant-related costs, decreased household income after HCT, and financial hardship (defined as any one or two of the following: reporting being either unsatisfied with present finances, having difficulty meeting monthly bill payments, or not having enough money at the end of the month; given that experiencing all three would represent extreme hardship likely to impact PROs regardless of awareness, we excluded this group). A seven-point scale was provided for perceptions of overall quality of life (QOL, and patient-reported stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). We fit regression models-stratified by awareness-to assess for the association of income decline and financial hardship with QOL below the median and perceived stress above the median (adjusting for transplant type, sex, age, race, marital status, income, distance to transplant center, and time since diagnosis). Results:In the overall survey cohort (n=325; response rate = 65.1%), 21.6% reported being unaware of HCT-related costs, with no differences due to age, race, income, or education as compared to those who were aware. Patients who reported being aware prior to transplant most often reported being informed of costs by a social worker (40.6%) and least often by a physician (23.4%; sources not mutually exclusive). Among aware patients, income decline after HCT was not associated with QOL below the median (AOR 1.4 [0.8, 2.5]; p=0.24); in contrast, among the unaware, income decline increased the odds of reporting worse QOL (AOR 4.3 [1.1, 16.7]; p=0.04). Among the aware, self-reported financial hardship was associated with worse QOL after HCT (AOR 2.7 [1.5, 4.8]; p=<.001), but the odds were even higher among the unaware (AOR 4.7 [1.2, 19.4]; p=0.03). Similar increases were observed among the unaware for the association of decline in income and financial hardship with increased perceived stress. Conclusions: In this large multi-institutional cohort of patients post-HCT, more than one-fifth reported being unaware of transplant-related costs before the procedure. Moreover, this analysis suggests that pre-treatment awareness of transplant-related costs may ameliorate the impact of post-HCT financial burden on patient-reported outcomes. Figure Figure. Disclosures Khera: Novartis: Consultancy. Zafar: Novartis: Other: Spouse's Employment.