Cancer survival rates are usually discussed in terms of 5-year relative survival, which means the proportion of patients alive five years after diagnosis. Keep in mind that statistics like these are based on large groups of people and cannot predict what might happen with an individual patient.
In addition, the most current national data is from patients diagnosed between 2018 and 2022, which doesn’t reflect the impact of the latest treatment advances that patients diagnosed today may benefit from.
In the United States, overall survival among people diagnosed with multiple myeloma is 62.4%. The National Cancer Institute records 5-year relative survival statistics by stage:
- Localized. Where the disease is confined to one tumor in or outside the bone, survival is 80.7%
- Distant. Many tumors are found in or outside the bone, survival is 61.7%
Learn more multiple myeloma statistics from the National Cancer Institute.
What impacts your outcome?
Other factors can play a significant role in determining which treatment options are best for you and your prognosis.
- Your age at diagnosis
- Whether you have other chronic diseases such as kidney or heart disease.
- Whether there are certain genetic changes in the myeloma cells
- The depth of remission achieved (fewer myeloma cells = deeper remission)
- Aggressiveness of any remaining detectable disease
What Roswell Park does to maximize your survival
As a national leader in cancer care, Roswell Park’s approach includes several components aimed at maximizing survival and quality of life, including:
- Stem cell transplant before relapse. The latest research shows that having a stem cell transplant earlier in the treatment plan, after first-line drug treatment, can deepen and prolong an achieved remission.
- Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. We are an authorized treatment center for Abecma and Carvykti, the CAR T-cell therapies FDA-approved for myeloma, which may lead to long-lasting remission — and even the possibility of a cure for some patients. Roswell Park is opening clinical trials of next-generation CAR T-cell therapies this year.
- Latest groundbreaking new drugs and technologies. We consider ALL available options for you, including the latest emerging options in clinical trials. Choosing to enroll in a clinical trial is entirely up to you.
Request an appointmentGet a second opinion
Historically, multiple myeloma is a disease that relapses again and again, even after the best available treatments. Most patients require continuous therapy, sometimes for years. But the landscape is changing dramatically and CAR T-cell therapy, is leading to a level of durable remission, off treatment, that is unprecedented in myeloma care.
