OBJECTIVES: Throughout the world, many cancer patients are financially burdened as a result of cancer treatment. The extent of this hardship varies depending on the country’s wealth, social security, and healthcare system. In Europe, it is widely believed that patients are protected financially against the expenses of medical treatment. Our aim is to analyse the literature regarding the socioeconomic impact of cancer on patients and their families and identify what variations exist among global regions.

METHODS: We systematically searched three databases (Pubmed, Econlit, and Web of Science) to identify articles published between 1980 and 2020 examining the socioeconomic impact of a cancer diagnosis. Articles were examined by country studied, type of cancer, type of healthcare system, and author affiliation.

RESULTS: Five hundred five articles met the inclusion criteria. The majority were written by authors with US affiliations and addressed populations within the US (58%). Europe was a distant second with 13% of the publications. The most common cancer type was breast cancer; however, most studies did not address a specific type. The concept of financial hardship varies considerably. For instance, some authors conceptualize it as catastrophic health expenditure, for others as an increase in debts or less money for leisure pursuits.

CONCLUSIONS: Results showed that financial burden as a result of cancer applies to patients and families worldwide. However, publications concentrating on the US far exceeded those of other regions. This is concerning as the causes and extent of financial burden can vary by country and healthcare system. Consistent terminology and standardized measures of financial burden are needed. This comes with a caveat that a standardized measure for one country may not be ideal for another. Therefore, further research outside of the US is needed to better assess how the financial burden of cancer patients is defined and measured.