Muscle Injuries§ 4.73Updated
Rating criteria

VA Diagnostic Code 5329Sarcoma, soft tissue (of muscle, fat, or fibrous connective tissue)â100

A single 100% rating under § 4.73. Here is what the VA requires for it.

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What each rating requires

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  1. 100%

    Sarcoma, soft tissue (of muscle, fat, or fibrous connective tissue)â100

From the schedule

Notes on this code

These notes are part of the regulation. They change how the levels above are applied.

  • Note: A rating of 100 percent shall continue beyond the cessation of any surgery, radiation treatment, antineoplastic chemotherapy or other therapeutic procedures. Six months after discontinuance of such treatment, the appropriate disability rating shall be determined by mandatory VA examination. Any change in evaluation based upon that or any subsequent examination shall be subject to the provisions of § 3.105(e) of this chapter. If there has been no local recurrence or metastasis, rate on residual impairment of function.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma (Diagnostic Code 5329)

VA Disability Rating for Soft Tissue Sarcoma — 38 CFR § 4.73, Muscle Injuries

What This Condition Is

Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that develops in the muscle, fat, or fibrous connective tissue. Under the VA rating schedule, it falls within the Muscle Injuries body system and is evaluated under Diagnostic Code 5329 in § 4.73.

Available Rating Level

Under Diagnostic Code 5329, there is a single scheduled rating level:

RatingCriteria
100%Sarcoma, soft tissue (of muscle, fat, or fibrous connective tissue)

What the VA Looks For When Rating This Condition

The 100 percent rating is assigned during active disease and treatment. Specifically, the VA applies the following rules:

  • The 100 percent rating continues beyond the cessation of any surgery, radiation treatment, antineoplastic chemotherapy, or other therapeutic procedures.
  • Six months after such treatment is discontinued, the appropriate disability rating is determined by a mandatory VA examination.
  • Any change in the evaluation based on that examination — or any subsequent examination — is subject to the provisions of § 3.105(e).
  • If there has been no local recurrence or metastasis, the condition is rated based on the residual impairment of function.

This information is drawn directly from the VA rating schedule (38 CFR § 4.73, Diagnostic Code 5329). It is provided for general educational purposes and describes how the condition is scheduled — it is not a prediction of any individual outcome.

These criteria are a rendering of § 4.73, diagnostic code 5329. The official version is the one that governs your rating.

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What next

How to claim this

Knowing the criteria is the first half. Getting your file to show them is the second.

  1. Find your level in the stack

    Read each rung against what your medical records already say. The level your records document today is the one the VA can support today.

  2. Name the gap

    Look at the rung above yours and write down exactly what it asks for that your file does not show yet — a diagnosis, a measurement, a prescribed brace, a doctor’s opinion linking it to service.

  3. Claim it by code

    File under diagnostic code 5329 and attach the evidence for the level you are asking for. Other Muscle Injuries codes may cover your secondary conditions.

Find out which rating your evidence supports.

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