Associations of Socioeconomic Status, Public vs Private Insurance, and Race/Ethnicity With Metastatic Sarcoma at Diagnosis

Key Points Question Is the presence of metastases at diagnosis of sarcoma associated with socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, or insurance status? Findings In this cross-sectional, population-based study of 47 337 sarcoma cases, metastases at diagnosis of sarcoma was not associated with socioeconomic status as measured by small-area Census characteristics. Among adults, those with Medicaid insurance or no insurance had a higher odds of metastases at diagnosis of most soft-tissue sarcomas, but not bone sarcomas, whereas the racial disparities in the prevalence of metastatic leiomyosarcoma and unclassified sarcomas were not associated with small-area socioeconomic status and insurance status. Meaning These findings suggest that Medicaid insurance or no insurance is associated with the presence of metastases at the time of diagnosis among adults with soft-tissue sarcomas, suggesting a diagnostic delay, but there is no such association for adults with bone sarcomas.