QOLP-33. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL TOXICITY IN PRIMARY CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM TUMOR PATIENTS: CORRELATIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYMENT STATUS, SYMPTOM BURDEN AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE

Financial toxicity (FT) after a cancer diagnosis is the consequence of decreased earnings and increased spending. In patients with primary central nervous system (PCNS) tumors, the correlation between FT and factors such as symptom burden, psychological distress, and health-related quality of life has not been extensively studied. We assessed employment status and several patient illness factors in a PCNS tumor cohort.

Patient and disease characteristics and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were collected from adults diagnosed with PCNS tumors between 9/2016-12/2019. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to describe PROs.

Of 277 patients, 77 (28%) reported being unemployed due to tumor diagnosis. They reported difficulty walking (64%) and performing usual activities (64%). This group had lower general health status (p< 0.001) and higher tumor-related symptom severity (p=0.004) than employed patients. Unemployed patients reported high symptom burden with an average of 6 moderate-severe symptoms for those with brain tumors and 10 for those with spine tumors. Both brain and spine tumor patients who were unemployed reported increased mood-related interference (p=0.020), as well as moderate-severe anxiety (30%) and depression (25%) compared to employed patients (15% vs 8%, respectively). Unemployed brain tumor patients reported worse scores in cognitive and neurologic symptom subscales (p< 0.001).

These data provide indirect evidence that financial toxicity that correlates with high symptom burden across several domains and lower health-related quality of life. Future research work will include the COST questionnaire to further evaluate the implications of FT in the PCNS tumor patient population.