Information-seeking preferences in diverse patients receiving a genetic testing result in the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research (CSER) study.

PURPOSE: Accurate and understandable information after genetic testing is critical for patients, family members, and professionals alike. METHODS: As part of a cross-site study from the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research consortium, we investigated the information-seeking practices among patients and family members at 5 to 7 months after genetic testing results disclosure, assessing the perceived utility of a variety of information sources, such as family and friends, health care providers, support groups, and the internet. RESULTS: We found that individuals placed a high value on information obtained from genetics professionals and health care workers, independent of genetic testing result case classifications as positive, inconclusive, or negative. The internet was also highly utilized and ranked. Study participants rated some information sources as more useful for positive results compared with inconclusive or negative outcomes, emphasizing that it may be difficult to identify helpful information for individuals receiving an uncertain or negative result. There were few data from non-English speakers, highlighting the need to develop strategies to reach this population. CONCLUSION: Our study emphasizes the need for clinicians to provide accurate and comprehensible information to individuals from diverse populations after genetic testing.

Predicting genes from phenotypes using human phenotype ontology (HPO) terms.

The interpretation of genomic variants following whole exome sequencing (WES) can be aided using human phenotype ontology (HPO) terms to standardize clinical features and predict causative genes. We performed WES on 453 patients diagnosed prior to 18 years of age and identified 114 pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) variants in 112 patients. We utilized PhenoDB to extract HPO terms from provider notes and then used Phen2Gene to generate a gene score and gene ranking from each list of HPO terms. We assigned Phen2Gene gene rankings to 6 rank classes, with class 1 covering raw gene rankings of 1 to 10 and class 2 covering rankings from 11 to 50 out of a total of 17,126 possible gene rankings. Phen2Gene ranked causative genes into rank class 1 or 2 in 27.7% of cases and the genes in rank class 1 were all associated with well-characterized phenotypes. We found significant associations between the gene score and the number of years, since the gene was first published, the number of HPO terms with an hierarchical depth greater or equal to 11, and the number of Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man terms associated with the phenotype and gene. We conclude that genes associated with recognizable phenotypes and terms deep in the HPO hierarchy have the best chance of producing a high gene score and ranking in class 1 to 2 using Phen2Gene software with HPO terms. Clinicians and laboratory staff should consider these results when HPO terms are employed to prioritize candidate genes.

Diagnostic yield of pediatric and prenatal exome sequencing in a diverse population.

The diagnostic yield of exome sequencing (ES) has primarily been evaluated in individuals of European ancestry, with less focus on underrepresented minority (URM) and underserved (US) patients. We evaluated the diagnostic yield of ES in a cohort of predominantly US and URM pediatric and prenatal patients suspected to have a genetic disorder. Eligible pediatric patients had multiple congenital anomalies and/or neurocognitive disabilities and prenatal patients had one or more structural anomalies, disorders of fetal growth, or fetal effusions. URM and US patients were prioritized for enrollment and underwent ES at a single academic center. We identified definitive positive or probable positive results in 201/845 (23.8%) patients, with a significantly higher diagnostic rate in pediatric (26.7%) compared to prenatal patients (19.0%) (P = 0.01). For both pediatric and prenatal patients, the diagnostic yield and frequency of inconclusive findings did not differ significantly between URM and non-URM patients or between patients with US status and those without US status. Our results demonstrate a similar diagnostic yield of ES between prenatal and pediatric URM/US patients and non-URM/US patients for positive and inconclusive results. These data support the use of ES to identify clinically relevant variants in patients from diverse populations.

An Exploratory Human Laboratory Experiment Evaluating Vaporized Cannabis in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain From Spinal Cord Injury and Disease.

UNLABELLED: Using 8-hour human laboratory experiments, we evaluated the analgesic efficacy of vaporized cannabis in patients with neuropathic pain related to injury or disease of the spinal cord, most of whom were experiencing pain despite traditional treatment. After obtaining baseline data, 42 participants underwent a standardized procedure for inhaling 4 puffs of vaporized cannabis containing either placebo, 2.9%, or 6.7% delta 9-THC on 3 separate occasions. A second dosing occurred 3 hours later; participants chose to inhale 4 to 8 puffs. This flexible dosing was used to attempt to reduce the placebo effect. Using an 11-point numerical pain intensity rating scale as the primary outcome, a mixed effects linear regression model showed a significant analgesic response for vaporized cannabis. When subjective and psychoactive side effects (eg, good drug effect, feeling high, etc) were added as covariates to the model, the reduction in pain intensity remained significant above and beyond any effect of these measures (all P < .0004). Psychoactive and subjective effects were dose-dependent. Measurement of neuropsychological performance proved challenging because of various disabilities in the population studied. Because the 2 active doses did not significantly differ from each other in terms of analgesic potency, the lower dose appears to offer the best risk-benefit ratio in patients with neuropathic pain associated with injury or disease of the spinal cord. PERSPECTIVE: A crossover, randomized, placebo-controlled human laboratory experiment involving administration of vaporized cannabis was performed in patients with neuropathic pain related to spinal cord injury and disease. This study supports consideration of future research that would include longer duration studies over weeks to months to evaluate the efficacy of medicinal cannabis in patients with central neuropathic pain.

Inhaled Cannabis for Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Meta-analysis of Individual Patient Data.

UNLABELLED: Chronic neuropathic pain, the most frequent condition affecting the peripheral nervous system, remains underdiagnosed and difficult to treat. Inhaled cannabis may alleviate chronic neuropathic pain. Our objective was to synthesize the evidence on the use of inhaled cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain. We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis of individual patient data. We registered our protocol with PROSPERO CRD42011001182. We searched in Cochrane Central, PubMed, EMBASE, and AMED. We considered all randomized controlled trials investigating chronic painful neuropathy and comparing inhaled cannabis with placebo. We pooled treatment effects following a hierarchical random-effects Bayesian responder model for the population-averaged subject-specific effect. Our evidence synthesis of individual patient data from 178 participants with 405 observed responses in 5 randomized controlled trials following patients for days to weeks provides evidence that inhaled cannabis results in short-term reductions in chronic neuropathic pain for 1 in every 5 to 6 patients treated (number needed to treat = 5.6 with a Bayesian 95% credible interval ranging between 3.4 and 14). Our inferences were insensitive to model assumptions, priors, and parameter choices. We caution that the small number of studies and participants, the short follow-up, shortcomings in allocation concealment, and considerable attrition limit the conclusions that can be drawn from the review. The Bayes factor is 332, corresponding to a posterior probability of effect of 99.7%. PERSPECTIVE: This novel Bayesian meta-analysis of individual patient data from 5 randomized trials suggests that inhaled cannabis may provide short-term relief for 1 in 5 to 6 patients with neuropathic pain. Pragmatic trials are needed to evaluate the long-term benefits and risks of this treatment.