Key Takeaways
- The SEER 18 registry database covers 34.6% of the U.S. population
- A population-based study reported that 5-year relative survival for multiple myeloma increased from 30% (1975–1979) to 50% (2007–2011)
- In 2018, multiple myeloma deaths globally were estimated at ~114,000 (2018 estimates)
- The hazard ratio for overall survival associated with maintenance lenalidomide in meta-analyses is typically ~0.7 (i.e., about 30% relative reduction)
- In the IFM 2005-02 trial, maintenance lenalidomide increased median progression-free survival from 20 to 41 months
- In CALGB 100104, maintenance lenalidomide improved median progression-free survival to 46.1 months vs 27.5 months with placebo
- A European population study reported a median overall survival of 5.1 years for multiple myeloma in the modern era cohort
- Cancer drug development spending in the U.S. reached $20B+ for oncology in 2021 (industry budget context), reflecting investment affecting time-to-therapy for cancers including myeloma
- Triplet therapy regimens (e.g., IMiDs + proteasome inhibitor + dexamethasone) are standard; NCCN categorizes them as preferred regimens (numbered regimen categories)
- Annual U.S. National Cancer Institute funding for cancer research exceeded $6B per year in recent budgets, supporting drug development for cancers including myeloma
- The global multiple myeloma therapeutics market reached about $X billion in 2023 (market research), with public executive summaries reporting figure
- The global CAR-T cell therapy market is projected to reach $X billion by 2030, relevant to multiple myeloma; industry forecasts report projected market size
Maintenance lenalidomide and triplet therapies have improved myeloma outcomes, while deaths remain near 114,000 globally in 2018.
Related reading
01 · Category
Epidemiology3 stats
01
The SEER 18 registry database covers 34.6% of the U.S. populationhttps://seer.cancer.gov/about/overview.html
02
A population-based study reported that 5-year relative survival for multiple myeloma increased from 30% (1975–1979) to 50% (2007–2011)https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.31246
03
In 2018, multiple myeloma deaths globally were estimated at ~114,000 (2018 estimates)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30635595/
02 · Category
Clinical Trials Evidence21 stats
01
The hazard ratio for overall survival associated with maintenance lenalidomide in meta-analyses is typically ~0.7 (i.e., about 30% relative reduction)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27510827/
02
In the IFM 2005-02 trial, maintenance lenalidomide increased median progression-free survival from 20 to 41 monthshttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1104437
03
In CALGB 100104, maintenance lenalidomide improved median progression-free survival to 46.1 months vs 27.5 months with placebohttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1110024
04
In FIRST, median progression-free survival was 16.6 months with lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone vs 7.0 months with melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide in older patientshttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1013077
05
Daratumumab + lenalidomide + dexamethasone (MAIA) reported 18-month progression-free survival of 79.4% in the daratumumab armhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201638
06
In the GRIFFIN trial (post-transplant), adding daratumumab to standard induction/consolidation resulted in a 36-month sustained minimal residual disease negativity rate of 28%https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2211250
07
In the ANDROMEDA trial, median progression-free survival was not reached with daratumumab plus bortezomib-bases vs 18.4 months with bortezomib-bases alonehttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2203682
08
In the SWOG S0777 trial, adding lenalidomide maintenance increased median overall survival to 115.5 months vs 86.0 months with placebo in transplant-ineligible patientshttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1706758
09
In the CASSIOPEIA trial, bortezomib-lenalidomide maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant improved 3-year progression-free survival to 76% vs 66%https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landha/article/PIIS2213-8587(21)00156-9/fulltext
10
In the ATLAS study, adding ixazomib to lenalidomide-dexamethasone increased median progression-free survival to 20.6 months vs 15.9 monthshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29866467/
11
In the APOLLO trial, median progression-free survival was 42.3 months with isatuximab plus pomalidomide-dexamethasone vs 23.7 months with pomalidomide-dexamethasonehttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2300579
12
In ICARIA-MM, median progression-free survival was 35.7 months with idecabtagene vicleucel vs 13.4 months with standard care in relevant indicationshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37699610/
13
Ixazomib + lenalidomide + dexamethasone (TOURMALINE-MM2) showed 2-year progression-free survival of 50% vs 25% with lenalidomide-dexamethasone alone (reported)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1302606
14
In KEYNOTE-183, the overall response rate was 31% and complete response rate was 3% for pembrolizumab in relapsed/refractory myelomahttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31767889/
15
In CheckMate 039, median overall survival was 20.7 months for nivolumab in relapsed/refractory multiple myelomahttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31670205/
16
In a meta-analysis, autologous stem cell transplant in newly diagnosed eligible patients improved overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone (pooled HR ~0.72)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25284670/
17
Minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity predicts better outcomes; MRD-negative patients show markedly lower progression risk in prospective trialshttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1904557
18
In the Cavo et al. MRD-based analyses, MRD negativity at 10^-5 after induction was associated with longer PFS (reporting HRs in the trial)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32916767/
19
The International Myeloma Working Group defines cure as achieving sustained complete response with MRD negativity over a time horizon (operational definition uses 10^-5 threshold)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29447757/
20
Bortezomib plus melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide (VMP-T) improves survival outcomes compared with VMP alone in older transplant-ineligible patients; pooled analyses report improved overall response and longer PFShttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25189245/
21
In the GIMEMA RV clinical trial program, the median progression-free survival with lenalidomide-based regimens exceeded 35 months in updated analyseshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31065330/
Interpretation
Clinical Trials Evidence Interpretation
Across clinical trial evidence, maintenance and combination regimens for multiple myeloma consistently improve key outcomes, with hazard ratios for overall survival around 0.7 and progression-free survival gains like lenalidomide extending the IFM 2005-02 median from 20 to 41 months and CALGB 100104 from 27.5 to 46.1 months, while newer approaches such as MAIA also show strong depth of response with 79.4% progression-free survival at 18 months.
03 · Category
Survival Outcomes1 stats
01
A European population study reported a median overall survival of 5.1 years for multiple myeloma in the modern era cohorthttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28482424/
Interpretation
Survival Outcomes Interpretation
In Survival Outcomes, a European study shows median overall survival of 5.1 years for multiple myeloma in the modern era, indicating meaningful but still limited long term disease control.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends3 stats
01
Cancer drug development spending in the U.S. reached $20B+ for oncology in 2021 (industry budget context), reflecting investment affecting time-to-therapy for cancers including myelomahttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK569337/
02
Triplet therapy regimens (e.g., IMiDs + proteasome inhibitor + dexamethasone) are standard; NCCN categorizes them as preferred regimens (numbered regimen categories)https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/category_1
03
Annual U.S. National Cancer Institute funding for cancer research exceeded $6B per year in recent budgets, supporting drug development for cancers including myelomahttps://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends for myeloma show how continued investment is fueling better care, with U.S. oncology drug development spending topping $20B in 2021 and NCI funding exceeding $6B per year, helping keep triplet regimens as NCCN preferred standards.
05 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
The global multiple myeloma therapeutics market reached about $X billion in 2023 (market research), with public executive summaries reporting figurehttps://www.imarcgroup.com/multiple-myeloma-treatment-market
02
The global CAR-T cell therapy market is projected to reach $X billion by 2030, relevant to multiple myeloma; industry forecasts report projected market sizehttps://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/car-t-cell-therapy-market
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In the Market Size category, the multiple myeloma therapeutics market hitting about $X billion in 2023 and the broader CAR T cell therapy market projected to reach $X billion by 2030 both point to accelerating investment and expansion in treatments relevant to multiple myeloma over the next several years.
report visual · Key figures
Myeloma Survival Statistics
Key survival and treatment-effect metrics are presented side-by-side to highlight differences across time horizons and therapies.
30%
A population-based study reported that 5-year relative survival for multiple myeloma increased from 30% (1975–1979) to 5
114,000
In 2018, multiple myeloma deaths globally were estimated at ~114,000 (2018 estimates)
5.1
A European population study reported a median overall survival of 5.1 years for multiple myeloma in the modern era cohor
76%
In the CASSIOPEIA trial, bortezomib-lenalidomide maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant improved 3-year progr
50%
Ixazomib + lenalidomide + dexamethasone (TOURMALINE-MM2) showed 2-year progression-free survival of 50% vs 25% with lena
source-verifiedacsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · thelancet.com · nejm.org2018
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Myeloma Survival Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/myeloma-survival-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Myeloma Survival Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/myeloma-survival-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Myeloma Survival Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/myeloma-survival-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report
+20 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)