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 2013 and 2019, which doesn’t reflect the impact of the latest treatment advances.
In the United States, overall survival among people diagnosed with multiple myeloma is 59.8%. 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
Chief of MyelomaThe prognosis for multiple myeloma has improved significantly in recent years. The last decade has brought a lot of new treatments that prolong the life of multiple myeloma patients. Most patients have many years to live with this disease because we have so many good options of treatment, but not just to live longer, but with good quality of life.