Myeloma diagnosis and treatment statistics

Routes to diagnosis

'GP referral' is the most common route to diagnosing myeloma

Patient Experience

Myeloma patients rating their care very good or excellent, 2014, England

More than a third (36%) of myeloma (ICD-10 C88-C90 including malignant immunoproliferative diseases) cases in England are diagnosed following a routine or urgent GP referral (but not under the ‘two-week wait’ referral route).[1]

A third (33%) of myeloma cases in England are diagnosed after presenting as an emergency.[1] More than 6 in 11 (62%) of emergency presentation cases are via Accident and Emergency (A&E), with the other cases coming via an emergency GP referral, inpatient referral or outpatient referral.[2]

More than 3 in 20 (17%) of myeloma cases in England are diagnosed via the ‘two-week wait’ referral route. This proportion is low compared with the average across all cancer types.[1]

There are variations in routes to diagnosis by sex, age, deprivation and ethnicity.[3]

Myeloma (C88-C90), Percentage of Cases by Route to Diagnosis, Adults Aged 15-99, England, 2012-2013

See also

Routes to diagnosis by healthcare area, Local Authority or postcode

National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) routes to diagnosis

Routes to diagnosis emergency presentation types

References

  1. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to diagnosis 2006-2013 workbook (a). London: NCIN; 2015
  2. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to diagnosis 2006-2013 workbook (b). London: NCIN; 2016.
  3. National Cancer Intelligence Network. Routes to diagnosis Site Specific Data Briefings 2006-2013. London: NCIN; 2016.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2012-2013, ICD-10 C88-C90

Routes to diagnosis statistics were calculated from cases of cancer registered in England which were diagnosed in 2012-2013. Staging proportions only include patients with a known stage (cases with an unknown stage at diagnosis are not included in the denominator).

Last reviewed:

'14-day / Two-week wait'

England meets the standard for their country on the percentage of patients first seen by a specialist within two weeks of urgent GP referral for suspected cancer.[1]

'Two-week wait' supports early diagnosis as spotting cancer early is important for improving survival, so it is important that patients with potential cancer symptoms are referred promptly.

'31-day wait'

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland meet the standard for their country on the percentage of patients that receive their first cancer treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat.[2-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

'62-day wait'

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not meet the standard for their country on the percentage of patients receiving their first definitive treatment for cancer within two months of a GP referral for suspected cancer.[2-4]

The speed at which patients receive their first treatment can have a positive outcome on their clinical outcome, so it is important that patients with cancer symptoms are treated promptly.

Cancer waiting times coding and standards are different in each country and so comparisons should not be made between countries, only each country against their own measures.

Haematological Cancers, Waiting Times, UK countries, 2014-15

    England Wales Scotland (lymphoma only) Northern Ireland
'14-day wait': seen by specialist following referral Performance 96.2%      
Standard 93%      
Performance against standard Meets standard      
'31-day wait': receipt of first treatment following decision to treat Performance   99.3% 99.9% 100%
Standard   98% 95% 98%
Performance against standard   Meets standard Meets standard Meets standard
'62-day wait': receipt of first treatment following referral Performance   83.8 91.8% 85.8%
Standard   95% 95% 95%
Performance against standard   Does not meet standard Does not meet standard Does not meet standard

Data not available for '14-day wait' in Wales, Scotland or NI.
Data not available for '31- or 62-day wait' in England.
Data for Scotland is for lymphoma only.

See also

Cancer waiting times by UK by healthcare area, Local Authority or postcode

Learn about cancer waiting times data, codes and tumour groups

References

  1. NHS England. Cancer waiting times.  Accessed May 2015.
  2. StatsWales. Cancer waiting times. Accessed May 2015.
  3. ISD Scotland. Cancer Waiting Times. Accessed June 2015.
  4. Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Cancer Waiting Times. Accessed June 2015.
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Around 7 in 10 patients with myeloma are treated with chemotherapy.[1] 

Myeloma (C90), First Line Treatments Received, Haematological Malignancy Research Network Region, 2004-2010

  Myleoma
Chemotherapy 69
Observation 19.6
Symptom Control only 11.4

For most patients, symptom control takes place alongside myeloma-specific chemotherapy.

These patients tend to have asymptomatic (smouldering) myeloma usually receive ‘observation’ when not actively treated to monitor for disease progression.[2,3]

References

  1. Haematological Malignancy Research Network 2012. First-line treatments for myeloma in the HMRN region, 2004-2010.
  2. Bird JM, Owen RG, D’Sa S, et al. Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of multiple myeloma 2011. Brit J Haematol 2011;154(1):32-75.
  3. Bird J, Behrens J, Westin J, et al. UK Myeloma Forum (UKMF) and Nordic Myeloma Study Group (NMSG): guidelines for the investigation of newly detected M-proteins and the management of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).Brit J Haematol 2009;147(1):22-42.

About this data

Data is for: Haematological Malignancy Research Network Region, 2004-2010, ICD-10 C90

Last reviewed:

90% of myeloma cancer patients rate their care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’.[1] Patient experience varies with individual needs and concerns, which are influenced by many aspects of personal background, disease characteristics and the care environment.

85% of patients were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of their care.[1] Being given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of a patients’ care is the factor most likely to be associated with high patient satisfaction scores.[2]

42% said they saw their GP once or twice before being told they had to go to hospital.[1] How often a patient sees their GP before being referred to hospital varies by cancer type depending on ease of diagnosis.[3]

For myeloma the proportion that said they saw their GP once or twice before being told they had to go to hospital is lower than the average for all cancer patients.[1]

Spotting cancer early is important for improving survival so it is important that patients with potential cancer symptoms are referred for tests promptly.

Myeloma (C90), Patient Experience Survey, by Sex, England, 2014

Female Male Persons
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who visited their GP once or twice about the health problem caused by their cancer 40.6% 43.2% 42.1%
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who said they were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist in charge of their care 85.4% 84.1% 84.6%
Percentage of patients treated for cancer who rated their overall care as excellent or very good 89.3% 91.3% 90.5%

See also

More results from the Cancer Patient Experience Survey

Trust level data on our Local Cancer Statistics

References

  1. Department of Health. Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2014. Accessed October 2015.
  2. Department of Health. National Cancer Patient Experience Survey Programme: 2010 National Survey Report. Accessed October 2015.
  3. Lyratzopoulos G1, Neal RD, Barbiere JM et al. Variation in number of general practitioner consultations before hospital referral for cancer: findings from the 2010 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey in England. Lancet Oncol 2012;13(4):353-65.

About this data

Data is for: England, 2014, ICD-10 C90

Patient Experience data is for adult patients in England with a primary diagnosis of cancer and who had been in active treatment between September and November 2013 who completed a survey in 2014.

Last reviewed:

Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

Cancer stats explained

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