Harvard Study Finds Cancer Diagnosis Linked to Long-Term Financial Hardship

New Delhi: A cancer diagnosis often impacts more than a patient’s health—it can trigger significant financial challenges, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

The study, led by Dr Benjamin C. James, chief of general surgery at Beth Israel and associate professor at Harvard, reveals lasting financial hardships for cancer patients, including lower credit scores, increased debt, and a higher risk of bankruptcy. The findings were presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco.

“These are the first studies to provide numerical evidence of financial toxicity among cancer survivors,” Dr. James explained. “Previous data on this topic largely relies on subjective survey reviews.”

The research analysed data from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry (MCR), involving 99,175 cancer patients (2010-2019) and 188,875 non-cancer patients as controls, matched with credit information from Experian. Key findings include:

• Higher Financial Burdens: Cancer patients had more debt collections, medical debt, and nearly five times the likelihood of bankruptcy compared to non-cancer patients.
• Lower Credit Scores: Cancer patients' credit scores were about 80 points lower on average.
• Impact of Treatments: Among 7,227 colorectal cancer patients, those receiving radiation had credit scores 62 points lower than surgery-only patients, while chemotherapy patients' scores were 14 points lower.

The study also found that patients with bladder, liver, lung, and colorectal cancers experienced the most significant credit declines, persisting up to 9.5 years post-diagnosis. Despite not linking cancer prognosis directly to financial outcomes, Dr James noted, “Some more aggressive cancers actually have less financial toxicity than cancers with a good prognosis.”

The researchers identified risk factors for worse financial outcomes, including being under 62, identifying as Black or Hispanic, being unmarried, having a lower area deprivation index, not owning a home, and earning below $52,000 annually. “We are looking years after a diagnosis, and we see that the credit score goes down, and it never comes back up, which is a first in the scientific community,” Dr James emphasized.

Dr James remarked that the persistence of financial difficulties in Massachusetts, a state with universal health care, underscores the need for broader policy changes. “This persistence of financial challenges, even in a state with relatively high insurance coverage, calls for broader policy changes and reforms, including reconsidering debt collection practices,” Dr James urged. “Further research is needed, but I think financial security should be a priority in cancer care.”

The study followed up on findings from the 2015 North American Thyroid Cancer Survivorship Study, which reported that 50% of thyroid cancer survivors faced financial toxicity.

Dr James, who contributed to that study, highlighted the unique use of objective financial data in the current study, noting that it took nearly five years to securely integrate cancer registry data with Experian's credit data while ensuring privacy.