What is multiple myeloma?
Myeloma occurs when plasma cells (white blood cells) in the bone marrow grow and divide in an abnormal, uncontrolled way, reducing the bodies ability to produce normal blood cells. Multiple myeloma is when patients have multiple bone lesions at the time of diagnosis, which occurs in approximately 90% of cases.
You can access further information about multiple myeloma, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.
The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.
How common is multiple myeloma?
In 2021, 639 Victorians were diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Of these, there were 372 males and 267 females, representing 58.2% and 41.8% of the total Victorian multiple myeloma diagnoses, respectively. Currently, multiple myeloma is diagnosed at a rate of 6 per 100,000 males and 3.7 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of multiple myeloma is 71 years in males and 72 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 1.8% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.1% of all cancer-related deaths in 2021, multiple myeloma was the 16th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 16th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria in 2021.
Trends in multiple myeloma over time
Figure 3 shows that since 1982 incidence of multiple myeloma has increased by an average of 2.3% per year in males and increased by an average of 2% per year in females. Over the past 39 years, mortality from multiple myeloma has decreased by 0.1% per year in males and decreased by 0.6% per year in females.
Geographical variance in multiple myeloma by local government area
Figure 4 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of multiple myeloma, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma in people born overseas
Figure 5 shows the age standardised incidence rates of multiple myeloma in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate for mutlipe myeloma was 7.7 for males born in the North America region and the lowest rate of 3.4 was observed in males born in the North-East Asia region. The highest age standardised incidence rate for multiple myeloma was 5.8 for females born in the Africa region and the lowest rate of 1 was observed in females born in the North-East Asia region.
Multiple myeloma five-year relative survival
Figure 6 shows the change in 5-year survival for multiple myeloma, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for multiple myeloma between 1986-1990 and 2016-2020 from 29% to 63%.