Burden of financial toxicity in Breast Cancer patients treated with curative intend: a multi-national study from low-middle income countries (FIT Study).

Globally, breast cancer accounts for one-fourth of new cancer cases in women and is also the leading cause of cancer and cancer death in women from low-middle-income countries. Cancer treatment is an expensive affair as it entails higher direct costs and increases indirect costs due to out-of-pocket expenditure and wage loss. It has been found that cancer treatment poses a huge economic burden on the household and results in catastrophic spending which further results in impoverishment of the household. The inequitable distribution of cancer care leads to inaccessibility and unaffordability thereby causing diagnostic delay and inability to receive timely cancer treatment. Prolongation of treatment duration increases the indirect cost of food, travel, and accommodation in addition to loss of productivity. This study will provide an opportunity to assess the incidence of financial toxicity in breast cancer patients from different countries with similar socio-demographic profiles. It will help correlate the risk of financial toxicity with the key quality parameters of the respective cancer diagnostic and treatment modalities. Secondly, the study also aims at assessing quality of life which will be captured using standard instruments. This study will not interfere with the standard treatment of breast cancer. The study team will interview the patient and/or the person accompanying them to capture details concerning social, economic, and living conditions, household income, and medical expenditure incurred for breast cancer treatment. The interview will be conducted during radiotherapy planning or delivery sessions. Single-time assessment of quality of life will also be done.