Racial Disparities in Patients with Metastatic Tumors of the Spine: A Systematic Review

Disparities in access and delivery of care have been shown to disproportionately affect certain racial groups. Studies have been conducted to assess these disparities within the spinal metastasis population, but the extent of their effects in the setting of other socioeconomic measures remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review to understand the effect of racial disparities on outcomes in patients with metastatic spine disease.

The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed, where a comprehensive online search was performed using Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, and Science Direct using MeSH terms related to metastatic spine tumor surgery and racial disparities up to February 2023. Two independent reviewers screened and analyzed articles to include studies assessing the following primary outcomes: clinical presentation, treatment type, postoperative complications, readmission, reoperation, survival and/or mortality, length of hospital stay, discharge disposition, and advance care planning.

A total of 13 studies were included in final analysis; 12 were retrospective cohort studies (Level of evidence III) and 1 was a prospective study (Level of evidence II). Postoperative complications were the most studied outcome in 46% of studies (6 of 13), followed by survival in 31% (4 of 13), and treatment type also in 31% (4 of 13). Overall, race was found to be significantly associated with at least one evaluated outcome in 69% of studies (9 of 13). Racial disparities were found in the incidence of cord compression, non-routine discharge, and treatment type in patients with metastatic spine disease. No differences were found on rates of post-operative ambulation, advance care planning, readmission, or survival; inconsistent results were seen for postoperative complications and length of stay. Nine studies (69%) included at least one other measure of socioeconomic status in multivariate analysis, with the two most common being insurance type and income.

Although some studies suggest race to be associated with presenting characteristics, treatment type and outcome of patients with spinal metastases, there was significant variability in the inclusion of measures of socioeconomic status in study analyses. As such, the association between race and outcomes in oncologic spine surgery remains unclear.