incidence & prevalence in canada

Multiple myeloma is the second most prevalent blood cancer after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

According to the 2011 Canadian Cancer Statistics report there are approximately 7,000 Canadians living with myeloma. It is estimated that in 2011, 2,300 new cases of myeloma will be diagnosed in Canada, and there will be 1,370 myeloma deaths. In the period 1997-2006, the annual percentage change in mortality rate amongst men was -1.6% and in women -0.4%.

Myeloma makes up 1.3 percent of all new cancer cases in Canada and 1.8 percent of all cancer deaths. Men outnumber women amongst both newly diagnosed cases (1,300 men and 1000 women) and deaths (730 men and 640 women). Relatively little conclusive research has been conducted on the epidemiology of myeloma in Canada.

The average age at diagnosis is 62 years for men and 61 years for women, and only 4% of cases are diagnosed in individuals under the age of 45.

We know that the incidence of myeloma varies from country to country, from a low of less than one per 100,000 people in China to a high of about four per 100,000 in most Western industrialized countries. In the United States, myeloma is more common in African Americans than Caucasians.