TY - JOUR
T1 - Hemato-oncology tourism in Israel
T2 - A retrospective review
AU - Hod, Keren
AU - Bronstein, Yotam
AU - Chodick, Gabriel
AU - Shpilberg, Ofer
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by American Society of Clinical Oncology Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - PURPOSE Despite the significant increase in medical tourism worldwide, data on medical tourist (MT) clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes are lacking. Many MTs who choose Israel to receive medical services are individuals diagnosed with hematologic malignancies. The purpose of this study was to describe hemato-oncology MTs and to compare their disease characteristics and treatment outcomes to a control group of local (Israeli) hemato-oncology patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective review, we analyzed hospital records of all hemato-oncology tourists and Israeli patients diagnosed and/or treated at the Institute of Hematology, Assuta Medical Center, between 2014 and 2016. MT and local patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and treatment outcomes were compared. MT data were also analyzed according to their commitment to treatment in Israel. RESULTS Data on 110 MTs (median age, 51.0 years; 53.6% women) and 122 local patients (median age, 65.0 years; 41.8% women) diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma were analyzed. The most common hematologic malignancy in both MTs and local patients was NHL (54.5% and 73.0%, respectively). Among MTs, 32.7% were fully committed to treatment in Israel, 32.7% were partially committed, and 34.6% were not committed. In 25.9% of MTs, a review of their biopsy resulted in a more definitive or different diagnosis. The percentage of patients who achieved complete response to treatment was similar among MTs and local patients. CONCLUSION MTs often require a pathologic review of their initial diagnosis and are more likely to present with advanced stages of disease. Treatment of MTs according to the appropriate clinical parameters is expected to yield similar outcomes to those of local patients.
AB - PURPOSE Despite the significant increase in medical tourism worldwide, data on medical tourist (MT) clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes are lacking. Many MTs who choose Israel to receive medical services are individuals diagnosed with hematologic malignancies. The purpose of this study was to describe hemato-oncology MTs and to compare their disease characteristics and treatment outcomes to a control group of local (Israeli) hemato-oncology patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective review, we analyzed hospital records of all hemato-oncology tourists and Israeli patients diagnosed and/or treated at the Institute of Hematology, Assuta Medical Center, between 2014 and 2016. MT and local patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and treatment outcomes were compared. MT data were also analyzed according to their commitment to treatment in Israel. RESULTS Data on 110 MTs (median age, 51.0 years; 53.6% women) and 122 local patients (median age, 65.0 years; 41.8% women) diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma were analyzed. The most common hematologic malignancy in both MTs and local patients was NHL (54.5% and 73.0%, respectively). Among MTs, 32.7% were fully committed to treatment in Israel, 32.7% were partially committed, and 34.6% were not committed. In 25.9% of MTs, a review of their biopsy resulted in a more definitive or different diagnosis. The percentage of patients who achieved complete response to treatment was similar among MTs and local patients. CONCLUSION MTs often require a pathologic review of their initial diagnosis and are more likely to present with advanced stages of disease. Treatment of MTs according to the appropriate clinical parameters is expected to yield similar outcomes to those of local patients.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089808259&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1200/GO.20.00098
DO - 10.1200/GO.20.00098
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C2 - 32822235
AN - SCOPUS:85089808259
SN - 2378-9506
SP - 1314
EP - 1320
JO - JCO Global Oncology
JF - JCO Global Oncology
IS - 6
ER -