Myeloma
New Cases (Incidence)
- An estimated 20,520 new cases of myeloma (11,400 men and 9,120 women) are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year.
- The median age at diagnosis is 70 years. Myeloma rarely occurs in people under age 45.
- For the years 2004 to 2008, the incidence rate in men (7.2 per 100,000) was 56.5 percent higher than for women (4.6 per 100,000).
- An estimated 74,814 people are living with, or are in remission from, myeloma in the United States
Incidence by Race and Ethnicity
- Blacks have more than twice the incidence rate (11.9 per 100,000 population) of myeloma than whites (5.3 per 100,000 population).
- The median age at diagnosis for blacks is 66.
- The highest incidence rates are found in black males 85 years of age and older (118.6 per 100,000).
- From 2004 to 2008, myeloma was the eleventh most commonly diagnosed cancer among black men and the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer among black women.
Survival
- Current statistical databases show that the overall five-year survival in persons with myeloma has shown a significant improvement since the 1960s.
- The five-year relative survival has increased from 12 percent in 1960 to 1963 for whites to 41.1 percent from 2001 to 2007 for all races and ethnicities.
- The five-year survival for white males (43 percent) increased the most.
- The three-year survival rate as of January 1, 2008, was 55.6 percent.
Deaths
- Approximately 10,610 deaths from myeloma are expected this year.
- Myeloma was the seventh most common cause of cancer death among black women and the 12th most common cause of cancer death among white women from 2003 to 2007.
- The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 3 percent of all cancer-related deaths among blacks are expected to be caused by myeloma, as reported in Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2011-2012.
- From 2004 to 2008, the mortality rate for myeloma for black men was nearly double the rate for white men (8.2 per 100,000 versus 4.2 per 100,000).
- During the same period, the mortality rate for black women was more than twice the rate for white women (5.6 per 100,000 versus. 2.6 per 100,000).
- Mortality from myeloma has been decreasing from 1995 to 2008 (the most recent data available).
- The U.S. median age at death from myeloma is 74 years.
- The U.S. median age at death from myeloma is 71 years for blacks.
- The U.S. median age at death from myeloma is 68 years for Hispanics.
Myeloma facts and statistics from Facts 2012.
