Baseline Characteristics of Parents Enrolled in Children’s Oncology Group Study ACCL20N1CD: Financial Toxicity During Treatment for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the United States

Santacroce SJ, Beauchemin MP, Ponce O, Ji L, Ramakrishnan S, Bona K, Muñeton-Castaño Y, Robles JM, Vargas S, De Los Santos C, Fisher B, Alexander S, Sung L, Parsons SK. Baseline Characteristics of Parents Enrolled in Children’s Oncology Group Study ACCL20N1CD: Financial Toxicity During Treatment for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the United States. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Jul;72(7):e31710. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31710. Epub 2025 Apr 22. PMID: 40263763; PMCID: PMC12126849.

Costs to parents and associated financial distress may contribute to observed health disparities in pediatric oncology. We describe financial distress in a cohort of parents with children newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and identify factors contributing to high financial distress. Settings were 28 Children’s Oncology Group practices in the National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program. We included English- or Spanish-speaking parents of children with newly diagnosed ALL. Analyses focused on baseline surveys completed by parents during their child’s ALL induction therapy. Survey items asked about socio-demographics, household material hardships, financial burden, financial distress, and financial coping behaviors.