The treatment of multiple myeloma has developed leading to an enhanced survival rate
We have recently seen that the treatment of multiple myeloma has developed and led to an enhanced survival majorly among young and white patients. However, the survival rate observed in patients of other ethnicities was lower.
Multiple myeloma, also known as plasma cell myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for producing antibodies. The patient originally has no symptoms but is later faced with bone pain, bleeding, frequent infections, and anemia.
Multiple myeloma could be diagnosed based on blood or urine tests finding abnormal antibodies, by bone marrow biopsy exposing cancerous plasma cells or based on medical imaging detecting bone lesions. This disease is known to have the ability to affect many organs making the symptoms vary greatly.
The treatment is focused on therapies that lower the clonal plasma cell population and consequently decrease the signs and symptoms of the disease.
Data was collected from more than 10,000 US patients, less than 65 years of age with multiple myeloma. Researchers discovered that income, marital status, and insurance status contributed to a patients’ chances of survival and that that race/ethnicity was not the most significant factor affiliated with patients’ chance of dying early.
The four-year approximated overall survival was 71.1 percent, 63.2 percent, 53.4 percent, and 46.5 percent respectively for patients with 0, 1, 2, or 3 adverse socio-demographic factors. This means that a person that lived in a low-income country and was not married had 25 percent fewer chances of surviving four years after diagnosis than a subject of the same age who had private insurance, was married and lived in a medium to high-income country.
Because of the expensive and complex treatment for myeloma, it is believed that people who are not married and have low income have a more fragile support network with which to face the challenges. It could influence their access to new therapies and the adequate management of recurrent disease.
However, the study revealed that in one group this isn’t true; in subjects with the highest predicted survival — those who are insured, married, and live in higher income areas — black patients were more likely to die than white patients.
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