Karanth S, et al. - In this SEER-Medicare–based study, researchers estimated racial differences in end-of-life care costs among patients with lung cancer, and identified and quantified factors that most significantly contribute to these differences using a statistical decomposition method. Study participants included individuals aged ≥ 66 years with stage I-IV lung cancer who died on or before December 31, 2013. They found 10% to 13% higher end-of-life care costs in non-Hispanic black individuals vs non-Hispanic white individuals. They also noted geographic differences, baseline comorbidity indices, and stage at diagnosis as the most contributing factors in explaining the racial discrepancies in costs, in relation to geographic diversity. They considered racially sensitive patient-level educational and navigational interventions as a crucial step in improving the quality of care and lessening costs during end-of-life.