Myeloma incidence statistics

Myeloma is the 19th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 2% of all new cancer cases (2015).[1-4]

In males in the UK, myeloma is the 16th most common cancer (2% of all new male cancer cases). In females in the UK it is the 19th most common cancer (1% of all new female cancer cases).

58% of myeloma cases in the UK are in males, and 42% are in females.

Myeloma incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates ) are similar to the UK average in all the UK constituent countries.

Myeloma (C90), Number of New Cases, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2015

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits   around the AS Rate

For myeloma, there are few established risk factors therefore differences between countries largely reflect differences in diagnosis and data recording.

Myeloma incidence is strongly related to age, with the highest incidence rates being in older people. In the UK in 2013-2015, on average each year almost half (45%) of new cases were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] 

Age-specific incidence rates rise steadily from around age 50-54 and more steeply from around age 65-69. The highest rates are in the 85 to 89 age group for males and females.

Incidence rates are significantly higher in males than females in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 90+, when the age-specific incidence rate is 2 times higher in males than females.

Myeloma (C90), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2013-2015

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits  around the AS Rate

For myeloma, like most cancer types, incidence increases with age. This largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. A drop or plateau in incidence in the oldest age groups often indicates reduced diagnostic activity perhaps due to general ill health.

Myeloma European age-standardised (AS) incidence rates for males and females combined increased by 32% in the UK between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015.[1-4] The increase was larger in males than in females.

For males, myeloma AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 35% between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015. For females, myeloma AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 22% between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2003-2005 and 2013-2015), myeloma AS incidence rates for males and females combined increased by 17%. In males AS incidence rates increased by 18%, and in females rates increased by 14%.

Myeloma (C90), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, UK, 1993-2015

Myeloma incidence rates have increased overall in all broad adult age groups in males and females combined in the UK since the early 1990s.[1-4] Rates in 25-49s have increased by 52%, in 50-59s have increased by 28%, in 60-69s have increased by 24%, in 70-79s have increased by 32%, and in 80+s have increased by 38%.

Myeloma (C90), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, By Age, UK, 1993-2015

For myeloma, like most cancer types, incidence trends largely reflect changing prevalence of risk factors and improvements in diagnosis and data recording. Recent incidence trends are influenced by risk factor prevalence in years past, and trends by age group reflect risk factor exposure in birth cohorts.

Myeloma incidence rates are projected to rise by 11% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 12 cases per 100,000 people by 2035.[1] This includes a larger increase for males than for females.

For males, myeloma European age-standardised (AS) incidence rates in the UK are projected to rise by 13% between 2014 and 2035, to 16 cases per 100,000 by 2035.[1] For females, rates are projected to rise by 7% between 2014 and 2035, to 10 cases per 100,000 by 2035.[1]

Myeloma (C90), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, by Sex, UK, 1979-2035

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It is projected that 8,888 cases of myeloma (5,229 in males, 3,659 in females) will be diagnosed in the UK in 2035.

The lifetime risk of developing myeloma is around 1 in 115 for men and around 1 in 155 for women, in 2012 in the UK.[1]

The lifetime risk for myeloma has been calculated on the assumption that the possibility of having more than one diagnosis of myeloma over the course of a lifetime is very low (‘Current Probability’ method).[2]

There is no evidence for an association between myeloma incidence and deprivation for either males or females in England.[1] England-wide data for 2006-2010 show European age-standardised  incidence rates are similar for both males and females living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived.[1]

Myeloma (C90), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2006-2010

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The estimated deprivation gradient in myeloma incidence between people living in the most and least deprived areas in England has not changed in the period 1996-2010.[1]

Age-standardised rates for White males with myeloma (ICD-10 C88-C90) range from 6.1 to 6.5 per 100,000. Rates for Asian males are similar, ranging from 3.6 to 6.4 per 100,000, whereas the rates for Black males are significantly higher, ranging from 10.9 to 18.2 per 100,000. For females there is a similar pattern - the age-standardised rates for White females range from 3.9 to 4.2 per 100,000. Rates for Asian females are similar, ranging from 2.3 to 4.4 per 100,000, whereas the rates for Black females are significantly higher, ranging from 6.6 to 11.5 per 100,000.[1]

Ranges are given because of the analysis methodology used to account for missing and unknown data. For myeloma, 17,357 cases were identified; 18% had no known ethnicity.

A similar ethnic pattern has been observed in the UK for almost 40 years, with myeloma occurring around twice as frequently in African Americans as Caucasians.[2] It appears that, in comparison with white people, black people have younger myeloma onset,[3] and a higher incidence of MGUS (though no difference in progression risk).[4,5] However, the reasons underpinning these ethnic differences have yet to be explained, and are currently the subject of much research.[4,6]

An estimated 17,600 people who had been diagnosed with myeloma between 1991 and 2010 were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.[1]

Around 39,000 new cases of myeloma (C88 and C90) were diagnosed in Europe in 2012 (1% of total cancer cases). In Europe (2012), the highest World age-standardised incidence rates for myeloma are in Norway for both men and women; the lowest rates are in Albania for men and Bosnia Herzegovina for women. UK myeloma incidence rates are estimated to be the ninth highest in males in Europe, and eighth highest in females.[1] These data are broadly in line with Europe-specific data available elsewhere.[2]

More than 114,000 new cases of myeloma (C88 and C90) were diagnosed worldwide in 2012 (0.8% of total cancer cases). Myeloma incidence rates are highest in Australia/New Zealand and lowest in Western Africa, but this partly reflects varying data quality worldwide.[1]

Variation between countries may reflect prevalence of risk factors, use of screening, and diagnostic methods.