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. population
02
A population-based study reported that 5-year relative survival for multiple myeloma increased from 30% (1975–1979) to 50% (2007–2011)
03
In 2018, multiple myeloma deaths globally were estimated at ~114,000 (2018 estimates)
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)
02
In the IFM 2005-02 trial, maintenance lenalidomide increased median progression-free survival from 20 to 41 months
03
In CALGB 100104, maintenance lenalidomide improved median progression-free survival to 46.1 months vs 27.5 months with placebo
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 patients
05
Daratumumab + lenalidomide + dexamethasone (MAIA) reported 18-month progression-free survival of 79.4% in the daratumumab arm
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%
07
In the ANDROMEDA trial, median progression-free survival was not reached with daratumumab plus bortezomib-bases vs 18.4 months with bortezomib-bases alone
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 patients
09
In the CASSIOPEIA trial, bortezomib-lenalidomide maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant improved 3-year progression-free survival to 76% vs 66%
10
In the ATLAS study, adding ixazomib to lenalidomide-dexamethasone increased median progression-free survival to 20.6 months vs 15.9 months
11
In the APOLLO trial, median progression-free survival was 42.3 months with isatuximab plus pomalidomide-dexamethasone vs 23.7 months with pomalidomide-dexamethasone
12
In ICARIA-MM, median progression-free survival was 35.7 months with idecabtagene vicleucel vs 13.4 months with standard care in relevant indications
13
Ixazomib + lenalidomide + dexamethasone (TOURMALINE-MM2) showed 2-year progression-free survival of 50% vs 25% with lenalidomide-dexamethasone alone (reported)
14
In KEYNOTE-183, the overall response rate was 31% and complete response rate was 3% for pembrolizumab in relapsed/refractory myeloma
15
In CheckMate 039, median overall survival was 20.7 months for nivolumab in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma
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)
17
Minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity predicts better outcomes; MRD-negative patients show markedly lower progression risk in prospective trials
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)
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)
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 PFS
21
In the GIMEMA RV clinical trial program, the median progression-free survival with lenalidomide-based regimens exceeded 35 months in updated analyses
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 cohort
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 myeloma
02
Triplet therapy regimens (e.g., IMiDs + proteasome inhibitor + dexamethasone) are standard; NCCN categorizes them as preferred regimens (numbered regimen categories)
03
Annual U.S. National Cancer Institute funding for cancer research exceeded $6B per year in recent budgets, supporting drug development for cancers including myeloma
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 figure
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 size
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
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
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 · attribution is report-level
+20 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)