ASCO 2019: Impact of Insurance Type on Survival in Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Monday, June 3, 2019
As the price of many oral antineoplastic agents has rapidly escalated, affordability has become an increasing issue for many patients with multiple myeloma. Kamal Chamoun, MD, of Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and colleagues found that insurance status and income may significantly affect survival for patients with this hematologic malignancy who are treated with this class of medication. The results of their study were presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago (Abstract LBA107).
The researchers analyzed data from 117,926 patients in the National Cancer Database diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2005 and 2014. The median age at diagnosis was 67 years, and 57% of patients lived in areas where the median income was less than $46,000 per year. Primary insurance included Medicare (52%), private insurance (35%), or Medicaid (5%); 3% of patients were uninsured.
Among patients 65 years of age and older, those with private insurance had longer overall survival than Medicare patients (P < .0001). Individuals living in areas with a median income greater than $46,000 per year also had significantly longer overall survival than patients in an area with a median income less than $46,000. Additionally, better overall survival was observed in patients with primary multiple myeloma, a lower Charlson Comorbidity Index, treatment in academic institutions, higher median regional income, or private insurance (P < .0001 for all).
“[The results] may be related to the affordability of oral antineoplastic medications and merit further investigation,” concluded Dr. Chamoun and colleagues.
Disclosure: The study authors’ disclosure information may be found at coi.asco.org.
