Disparities in neurosurgical care are increasingly recognized, yet how they affect the diagnosis and management of vestibular schwannoma (VS) remains unclear. Differences in tumor size at diagnosis, treatment selection, and outcomes may be influenced by race, insurance status, income, and geography. To date, no comprehensive synthesis has addressed these inequities in patients with sporadic VS....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and ENT teams should be aware that patients from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may present with larger vestibular schwannomas due to delayed access to care; screening and referral pathways should account for these disparities, though this review does not prescribe a specific protocol change.
Health-equity gaps in vestibular schwannoma care mean that socioeconomic status may be as clinically significant as tumor biology in determining patient outcomes.
- 01Systematic review documents socioeconomic disparities in vestibular schwannoma diagnosis and management.
- 02Lower-SES patients tend to present with larger tumors, suggesting delayed diagnosis.
- 03Disparities span access to imaging, specialist referral, and treatment selection.
- 04Findings underscore the need for equity-focused screening and referral strategies.
- 05Published in Neurosurgical Review; evidence synthesized from multiple prior studies.
Patients with lower socioeconomic status present with larger vestibular schwannomas at diagnosis.
studypartially supportedSocioeconomic disparities affect management decisions for vestibular schwannoma.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42771071
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10143-026-04478-5.
- Journal
- Neurosurgical Review
- Publication type
- systematic_review
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Patients diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma across varying socioeconomic backgrounds
- Intervention
- Socioeconomic status as exposure variable in vestibular schwannoma diagnosis and management
- Comparator
- Higher socioeconomic status patients
Primary outcomes
Tumor size at presentation; Disparities in diagnosis rates; Disparities in treatment selection