Analysis of canonical pathways suggested that pathways associated with TGF-β signaling, PPARα/RXRα activation, PTEN signaling, regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, STAT3 signaling, regulation of stem cell pluripotency, VEGF and IGF-1 signaling, NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response, and PI3K/AKT signaling, among others, were involved in the regulation of susceptibility to myopia (Fig. 11b, Additional file 10: Table S28). Here, PTEN is linked to myopia.