Diversity in Polygenic Risk of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common glaucoma subtype, is more prevalent and severe in individuals of African ancestry. Unfortunately, this ancestral group has been historically under-represented among genetic studies of POAG. Moreover, both genetic and polygenic risk scores (GRS, PRS) that are typically based on genetic data from European-descent populations are not transferable to individuals without a majority of European ancestry. Given the aspirations of leveraging genetic information for precision medicine, GRS and PRS demonstrate clinical potential but fall short, in part due to the lack of diversity in these studies. Prioritizing diversity in the discovery of risk variants will improve the performance and utility of GRS and PRS-derived risk estimation for disease stratification, which could bring about earlier POAG intervention and treatment for a disease that often goes undetected until significant damage has occurred.

Disparities in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of lung cancer brain metastases: a SEER-Medicare study.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a costly procedure used to irradiate disease tissue while sparing healthy tissue, ideally limiting the side effects of treatment. SRS is frequently used in the setting of lung cancer, which is associated with greater rates of BM, though its cost may lead to potentially inequitable use across patient populations. This study investigates potential disparities in the use of SRS to treat Medicare patients. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results cancer registry data for patients diagnosed between the years 2010 and 2012 were examined to identify lung cancer patients diagnosed with BM at the same time as their primary cancer (SBM). Medicare claims for SRS were identified; the odds of having SRS claims and hazards of mortality associated with those odds were examined with respect to various clinical and demographic characteristics. Of 74,142 Medicare-enrolled patients diagnosed with lung cancer, 9192 were diagnosed with SBM and 3259 of those patients received SRS. Adjusting for clinical and demographic characteristics, males with SBM had 0.85 times the odds of SRS compared to females with SBM. Black patients and those of other race had significantly lower odds of evidence of SRS compared to WNH patients. SRS may not be delivered equitably among Medicare patients. Males and minority patients may have decreased odds of SRS and worse survival compared to female and WNH patients, respectively.