Abstract 844P
Background
Despite development of novel treatments and updated guidelines in lymphoma care, inequities in access to care across economies remains a global challenge. This study uses the Lymphoma Coalition (LC) 2020 Global Patient Survey (GPS) on Lymphomas and CLL to examine the differences in barriers to treatment for patients with lymphoma in Europe by country income groups.
Methods
4343 patients from 37 European countries took part in the LC 2020 GPS. These countries were grouped according to the World Bank country classification by income and fell into two categories: Upper Middle-Income Countries (UMIC) (n=230) and High-Income Countries (HIC) (n=4113) groups. The demographics of the groups were examined, and univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses of questions relating to barriers to receiving treatment and healthcare financing of common lymphoma treatments were performed in IBM SPSS v27.
Results
Table: 844P
Barriers to receiving treatment by European country income groups
| Barriers | UMIC Count (%)* | HIC Count (%)* | Adjusted OR (95%CI) ** P value |
| None | 98 (75%) | 2164 (89%) | 2.90 (1.83-4.61) p<0.01 |
| Financial barriers | 10 (7%) | 40 (2%) | 0.36 (0.16-0.78) p=0.01 |
| Difficulty accessing up-to date treatment | 11 (8%) | 58 (2%) | 0.24 (0.11-0.53) p<0.01 |
| Long treatment waiting time | 11 (8%) | 60 (2%) | 0.25 (0.12-0.53) p<0.01 |
∗Valid percentages used, ∗∗Adjusted for age, lymphoma subtype and area lived in, ∗∗Reference category- UMIC
Patients from HIC were more likely than UMIC patients to report experiencing no treatment barriers but were less likely to report experiencing financial difficulties, difficulty accessing up-to-date treatments and long treatment waiting time (Table). When asked how their treatment was paid for, HIC patients who had been treated or who were currently being treated for lymphoma with either chemoimmunotherapy or chemotherapy alone or immunotherapy alone were 2.3 times more likely than patients from UMIC to have had their treatment paid in full by government or insurance than to have paid for it partially out-of-pocket (95% CI-1.32-4.09), p=0.004.
Conclusions
The results show that patients with lymphoma differ in how they experience ‘barriers to care’ across country income classification in Europe. Lymphoma Coalition advocates that more effort should be put into ensuring equitable access to lymphoma care across European countries.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Lymphoma Coalition.
Funding
Pfizer Inc, AbbVie Corporation, and Takeda Oncology.
Disclosure
O. Bamigbola, N. Dren, L. Warwick: Financial Interests, Institutional, Research Grant: Pfizer Inc; Financial Interests, Institutional, Research Grant: AbbVie Corporation; Financial Interests, Institutional, Research Grant: Takeda Oncology.