Basic Summary for Multiple Myeloma

Main name of condition: Multiple Myeloma
Other names or spellings: Plasma cell myeloma, myelomatosis

What is Multiple Myeloma?
  Brief description of Multiple Myeloma: Cancer causing tumors in bone marrow
  Parent types of Multiple Myeloma: Myeloma, Immunoproliferative diseases, Cancer, Bone conditions, Blood conditions, Bone Marrow Conditions
  Organs Affected by Multiple Myeloma: blood, bone, immune, bone marrow, white blood cells, plasma cells

How many people get Multiple Myeloma?
  Prevalance of Multiple Myeloma: about 63,000 people affected by multiple myeloma ("Orphan Products: Hope for People With Rare Diseases", By Carol Rados, FDA Consumer magazine, November-December 2003 Issue)
  Prevalance Rate of Multiple Myeloma: approx 1 in 4,317 or 0.02% or 63,000 people in USA [about data]
  Incidence (annual) of Multiple Myeloma: 14,600 annual cases of multiple myeloma in USA (SEER 2002 estimate)
  Incidence Rate of Multiple Myeloma: approx 1 in 18,630 or 0.01% or 14,600 people in USA [about data]
  Incidence of Multiple Myeloma: Each year, nearly 13,000 people in the United States learn that they have multiple myeloma.¹

Who gets Multiple Myeloma?
  Patient Profile for Multiple Myeloma: More common after age 40
  Profile for Multiple Myeloma: most multiple myeloma patients are between 50 and 70 years old.¹
  Race Profile for Multiple Myeloma: This disease affects blacks more often than whites and men more often than women.¹

How serious is Multiple Myeloma?
Deaths for Multiple Myeloma: 11,016 deaths reported in USA 1999 for multiple myeloma and other immunoproliferative syndromes (NVSR Sep 2001)
Complications of Multiple Myeloma: see complications of Multiple Myeloma

What causes Multiple Myeloma?
  Cause of Multiple Myeloma: Overgrowth of antibody-producing white blood cells called plasma cells. Growth inside bone marrow causes bone tumors.
  Class of Condition for Multiple Myeloma: cancer
  Risk factors for Multiple Myeloma: see risk factors for Multiple Myeloma

What are the symptoms of Multiple Myeloma?
Symptoms of Multiple Myeloma: see symptoms of Multiple Myeloma

Can anyone else get Multiple Myeloma?
Contagion of cancer: generally not; see details in contagion of cancer.
More information: see contagiousness of Multiple Myeloma

How is it treated?
  Specialists for Multiple Myeloma: Oncologists, Hematologists, Radiation oncologists
  Treatments for Multiple Myeloma: see treatments for Multiple Myeloma
  Research for Multiple Myeloma: see research for Multiple Myeloma

Society issues for Multiple Myeloma
Hospitalization statistics for Multiple Myeloma: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Multiple Myeloma:

0.38% (48,041) of hospital consultant episodes were for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
96% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
54% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
45% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
9% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
10 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
4 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
65 was the mean age of patients hospitalised for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
32% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms occurred in 15-59 year olds in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
22% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms occurred in people over 75 in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
76% of hospital consultant episodes for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms were single day episodes in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0.18% (91,827) of hospital bed days were for multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from What You Need To Know About Multiple Myeloma: NCI

Last revision: June 2, 2003

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