Prevalence and Incidence
• Approximately 50,000 Americans currently have multiple myeloma and approximately 6000 Canadians currently have multiple myeloma.
• Approximately 15,000 new cases of multiple myeloma are diagnosed in the US every year. In Canada, approximately 2000 new cases of multiple myeloma are diganosed every year.
• The incidence of multiple myeloma in patients over 65 years of age is 28.6 per 100,000 people vs. 1.8 per 100,000 people under age 65; however the vast majority of patients are under age 70 and the prevalence is increasing among young people.
• Myeloma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the U.S., possibly due to earlier diagnosis and / or environmental factors.
• The incidence of multiple myeloma in African - Americans is 9.2 per 100,000 versus 4.1 in the Caucasian population.