Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Affordability Tied to Widening Survival Disparity
FRIDAY, July 11, 2025 -- The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) was associated with a widening survival disparity between those with private insurance and those without health insurance, according to a study published online July 7 in JAMA Network Open.
Jingxuan Zhao, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving adults who received a new diagnosis of stage IV melanoma (12,048), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; 152,610), or renal cell carcinoma (18,782) who were identified before and after U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of ICIs. A six-group propensity score-weighting difference-in-differences (DID) approach was applied to examine changes in survival before and after ICI approval among individuals without insurance or with Medicaid versus those with private insurance for each type of cancer.
The researchers found that for those with a diagnosis of melanoma, two-year overall survival rates increased post-ICI approval among uninsured individuals (16.2 to 28.3 percent) and those with private insurance (28.7 to 46.0 percent), resulting in a widening disparity of 6.1 percentage points after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics. The survival disparity between people without insurance and those with private insurance widened to 1.3 percentage points among people with a diagnosis of NSCLC. No significant changes were seen in survival differences between people with Medicaid and those with private insurance with the introduction of ICIs.
"Expanding Medicaid to individuals without health insurance coverage may improve their access to effective cancer treatments that are also costly, such as ICIs," Zhao said in a statement.
One author disclosed ties to Pfizer and PRIME Education.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Read this next
Lung Cancer Screening Beneficial to Age 80 for Candidates Fit for Surgery
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2025 -- People aged 75 to 80 years at last screen who are diagnosed with screen-detected lung cancer (LC) have lower overall survival, but those undergoing...
Potentially Inappropriate Medications Linked to Frailty at Cancer Diagnosis
FRIDAY, Sept. 12, 2025 -- For patients with newly diagnosed cancer, an increasing number of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), as identified by the Geriatric Oncology...
One in 10 Undergoing Early Cancer Surgery Have New Persistent Opioid Use
MONDAY, Sept. 8, 2025 -- More than one in 10 veterans undergoing surgery for early-stage cancer develop new persistent opioid use, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.