Real-world prevalence of homologous recombination repair mutations in advanced prostate cancer: an analysis of two clinico-genomic databases.

BACKGROUND: Homologous recombination repair mutation (HRRm) status may guide risk-stratification and treatment decisions, including polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitor use, in advanced prostate cancer. Although HRRm prevalence has been reported in single-institution studies or clinical trials, real-world HRRm prevalence in diverse populations is unknown. We describe HRRm in the clinical setting using two real-world clinicogenomic databases: the Flatiron Health and Foundation Medicine, Inc. Clinico-Genomic Database (CGDB), a national electronic health record-derived database, and the American Association for Cancer Research Project Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange (GENIE). METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis included 3757 individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer who had next generation sequencing (NGS) as standard of care. The CGDB included men with advanced/metastatic prostate cancer and genetic data included both germline and somatic pathogenic mutations. The GENIE analysis included men with prostate cancer whose received NGS as standard of care, but the data were filtered to include somatic mutations only. Due to key differences among databases, direct comparisons were not possible. Overall prevalence of HRRm was calculated and stratified by demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: HRRm prevalence (combined germline and somatic) in CGDB (n = 487) was 24.6% (95% CI 20.9-28.7%), with no major differences across demographic and disease characteristic subgroups. HRRm prevalence (somatic) in GENIE (n = 3270) was 11.0% (95% CI 10.0-12.1%), which varied between 9.5% and 18.4% across treatment centers. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one-quarter of patients with advanced/metastatic prostate cancer in the CGDB had germline and/or somatic HRRm, which is consistent with clinical trials such as the PROfound study that used a similar NGS platform and algorithm to define HRRm. In the GENIE database, HRRm prevalence varied by treatment center or NGS platform. More research is needed to understand real-world HRRm prevalence variations.

Characteristics of U.S. older adult medicare beneficiaries receiving the influenza vaccination at retail pharmacies.

Background: Pharmacy-provided influenza vaccination services have become more prevalent among the older adult population. However, little is known about the characteristics of older adults associated with receiving the influenza vaccination at retail pharmacies and how these associated characteristics have changed. Objective: To examine characteristics of older adults associated with use of retail pharmacy-provided influenza vaccination services and how the characteristics changed between 2009 and 2015. Methods: The study used a retrospective, cross-sectional design with data from the 2009 and 2015 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. Older adults aged 65 and older who completed a community questionnaire and received the influenza vaccination during the previous winter were identified. Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use was the conceptual framework for inclusion of the population characteristics. A multivariable log-binomial regression was performed to estimate the association between the population characteristics and use of pharmacy-provided vaccination service, and the relative change in associations between 2009 and 2015. Survey weights were applied in all analyses. Results: The results showed older adults who were non-Hispanic black (compared to non-Hispanic white), who did not have secondary private insurance (compared to those who had), who did not have physician office visit (compared to those who had) and who lived in non-metro area (compared to those who lived in metro area) had become more likely to use pharmacy-provided influenza vaccination services in 2015 than in 2009. Conclusions: Pharmacy-provided influenza vaccination services appear to reduce access barriers for racially and socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults. Findings could help inform not only the retail pharmacies that provide vaccination services to better outreach to potential target populations but also policy makers about the disadvantaged populations that would benefit from the vaccination services provided by retail pharmacies.

Influenza vaccination rates and location for receiving the influenza vaccination among older adult Medicare beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the trends in older adult influenza vaccination rates and (2) locations at which U.S. older adults received influenza vaccinations for the 2008-2009 to 2017-2018 influenza seasons, and (3) compare the estimates of influenza vaccination rates and locations with the estimates from other sources reported previously. METHODS: Data from the 2009 to 2017 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) were used in this analysis. The weighted sample included an average of approximately 37 million community-dwelling older Medicare beneficiaries who completed questionnaires per year. The estimates for older adult influenza vaccination rates and the locations that they used to receive the influenza vaccination were weighted and reported for the 2008-2009 to 2017-2018 influenza seasons. RESULTS: The self-reported older adult influenza vaccination rates between 2008-09 and 2017-2018 ranged from 69.6% (24.6 million) to 75.0% (31.3 million). Across the study period, the percentage of older adults receiving the influenza vaccination at a physician office and clinic declined by 10.4%. The decline was more than offset by an increase in older adult influenza vaccination receipt at a community pharmacy, which substantially increased from 16.6% (4.1 million) in 2008-2009 to 34.8% (10.9 million) in 2014-2015. When compared with the estimates from other sources, the absolute value of the MCBS estimates corresponds with National Health Interview Survey estimates. The older adult influenza vaccination rate increased slightly between the 2008-2009 and 2017-2018 influenza seasons but is still below the 90% benchmark. CONCLUSION: Community pharmacies-increasingly important access points for the influenza vaccination for older adults-likely contributed to the growth in the rate of older adults vaccinated with influenza vaccines.

Effect of antibiotic time-outs on modification of antibiotic prescriptions in nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic overuse and misuse is a common problem in nursing homes. Antibiotic time-out (ATO) interventions have led to improvements in antibiotic uses in hospitals, but their impact in nursing homes remain understudied. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a stewardship intervention, promoting use of ATOs on the frequency and types of antibiotic change events (ACEs) in nursing homes. DESIGN: Controlled before-and-after intervention study. SETTING: Nursing homes in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. METHOD: Data on antibiotic prescriptions in 11 nursing homes were collected for 25 months. We categorized ACEs as (1) early discontinuation, (2) class modification, or (3) administration modification. Class modification ACEs were further classified based on whether the change narrowed, expanded, or had no effect on bacterial spectrum coverage. Analyses were performed using a difference-in-difference (DiD) approach. RESULT: Of 2,647 antibiotic events initiated in study nursing homes, 376 (14.2%) were associated with an ACE. The overall proportion of ACEs did not significantly differ between intervention and control nursing homes. Early discontinuation ACEs increased in intervention nursing homes (DiD, 2.5%; P = .01), primarily affecting residents initiated on broad-spectrum antibiotics (DiD, 2.9%; P < .01). Class modification ACEs decreased in intervention nursing homes but remained unchanged in control nursing homes. CONCLUSION: The impact of an ATO intervention in study nursing homes was mixed with increases in early discontinuation ACEs offset by reductions in class modification ACEs. More research on the potential value of ATO interventions in nursing homes is warranted.

Subtype-specific epidemiology of lymphoid malignancies in Taiwan compared to Japan and the United States, 2002-2012.

BACKGROUND: There are many unrevealed parts regarding lymphoma etiology. Previous studies suggested differences in lymphoma epidemiology among countries existed; however, some were one-center studies that were not enough to represent the whole population. OBJECTIVE: To provide epidemiological information on lymphoma within Taiwanese and to compare the data with that in Japan and the United States. METHODS: We used Taiwan Cancer Registry Database as our data source. Patients with lymphoma were identified through the ICD-O-3 codes and those with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were categorized into three major types and 13 subtypes according to 2008 WHO classification. Incidence of lymphoma was adjusted according to the 2000 world standard population. RESULTS: During 2002-2012, 21 929 cases were diagnosed with four major types of lymphoma in Taiwan. Aggressive B-cell lymphoma (52.21%, N = 11 450) was the most common type of NHL. Median age at diagnosis of aggressive B-cell lymphoma was the eldest (63.0-65.0 years). Male excess in T/NK-cell lymphoma was the most obvious (sex ratio: 1.39-2.07). The incidence of NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, was higher (male: 0.16-0.34 per 100 000, female: 0.06-0.16 per 100 000) in Taiwan than that in the United States and Japan. CONCLUSION: This is the first population-based study in Taiwan to investigate subtype-specific epidemiology of lymphoma. The incidence rates of lymphoma in Taiwan are mostly lower than those in the United States and higher or comparable to those in Japan except for NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, whose age-adjusted incidence in Taiwan is the highest.