Measuring financial toxicity as a clinically relevant patient‐reported outcome: The validation of the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST)

BACKGROUND Cancer and its treatment lead to increased financial distress for patients. To the authors' knowledge, to date, no standardized patient‐reported outcome measure has been validated to assess this distress. METHODS Patients with AJCC Stage IV solid tumors receiving chemotherapy for at least 2 months were recruited. Financial toxicity was measured by the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) measure. The authors collected data regarding patient characteristics, clinical trial participation, health care use, willingness to discuss costs, psychological distress (Brief Profile of Mood States [POMS]), and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer…