Data Stream
The Caregiver’s Burden
A study published in Palliative Medicine enumerates the psychological and emotional
toll of caring for a person with terminal cancer.
83%
Researchers asked 1,504 adult caregivers to complete a psychological health
questionnaire, then compared their responses with those of the general population.
83 % of caregivers vs. 15 %
of the general population
had clinically significant
psychological morbidity.
“The vast majority of caregivers suffered psychological morbidity at a level where … for
instance, their ability to concentrate, make decisions, and deal with problems may be
affected,” the authors wrote.
15%
Source: Grande G, Rowland C, van den Berg B, et al. Psychological morbidity and general health among family
caregivers during end-of-life cancer care: A retrospective census survey. Pall Med. 2018 August 21. [Epub ahead
of print]
The Price Is (Always) Right
A new study confirms what many patients already know: People with cancer will pay almost anything for
treatment.
Of 300 patients with cancer who were surveyed:
65 %
would make some kind of
sacrifice
(like borrowing money or
dipping into savings)
Open Payments,
Open Secrets
49
%
would declare personal
bankruptcy
38 %
would sell their homes
People were willing to make these sacrifices even though 76% had advanced, stage IV disease, considered
incurable in most cases. “There is a potential disconnect between the value that patients place on their
cancer treatment and the benefit they stand to gain in terms of prolongation of life or relief of symptoms,”
the researchers wrote.
Source: Chino F, Peppercorn JM, Rushing C, et al. Going for broke: a longitudinal study of patient-reported financial sacrifice in cancer care.
J Oncol Pract. 2018;14:e543-6.
Many oncologists working on pivotal tri-
als failed to fully disclose payments from
industry sponsors, potentially undermining
transparency and trust in research, accord-
ing to a study published in JAMA Oncology.
Looking at Open Payments data for 344
authors of 43 pivotal trials published
between January 2016 and August 2017:
76.5 % of authors
received at least one
industry payment,
but 32 % failed
to fully disclose
industry payments.
“We know that pharmaceutical companies
sponsor trials of their own drugs. That’s not
a surprise,” lead author Cole Wayant, BS,
said in a press release, “but what warrants
concern is that this funding is often not
disclosed in the publication of clinical trials
that form the basis of FDA approvals and
clinical practice guidelines.”
Source: Wayant C, Turner E, Meyer C, et al. Financial
conflicts of interest among oncologist authors of reports
of clinical drug trials. JAMA Oncol. 2018;4:1426;8.
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ASH Clinical News
December 2018