Multiple myeloma is relatively uncommon. An estimated 36,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2026, and roughly 203,000 people were living with the disease as of 2023, according to the National Cancer Institute. That makes it far less common than cancers of the breast, lung, or prostate, but it is one of the more frequently diagnosed blood cancers.
How It Compares to Other Cancers
To put 36,000 annual cases in perspective, breast cancer accounts for roughly 310,000 new diagnoses per year in the U.S., and lung cancer about 230,000. Multiple myeloma represents a small fraction of all new cancer diagnoses. Still, among cancers that start in the blood or bone marrow (a group that includes leukemias and lymphomas), myeloma is one of the most common. Because treatments have improved significantly over the past two decades, the number of people living with the disease at any given time has grown, which is why the prevalence figure of about 203,000 is much larger than the annual case count.
Who Gets It Most Often
Multiple myeloma is overwhelmingly a disease of older adults. Most people are diagnosed in their late 60s or 70s, and it is rare in anyone under 45. Men are diagnosed slightly more often than women.
Race is one of the strongest risk factors. Black men and women develop multiple myeloma at more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic White individuals: about 14.4 cases per 100,000 people compared to 6.4, according to research published in Blood Advances. The reasons for this disparity are complex and likely involve both biological differences in how the disease develops and inequities in access to screening and early treatment. This gap makes awareness especially important in Black communities, where precursor conditions may go undetected longer.
The Role of MGUS
Nearly all cases of multiple myeloma are preceded by a condition called MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance). MGUS itself is quite common, particularly in older adults, and most people who have it never develop cancer. On average, about 1% of people with MGUS progress to multiple myeloma each year. That risk is cumulative, so someone with MGUS for 20 years has a meaningfully higher chance of eventually being diagnosed than someone who has had it for two years. Doctors typically monitor MGUS with periodic blood tests rather than treating it right away.
Because MGUS is often discovered incidentally during routine bloodwork, some people learn they have it long before any symptoms appear. The low annual progression rate means most of these individuals will never need myeloma treatment, but the condition does warrant ongoing surveillance.
Rates Around the World
Multiple myeloma is not equally distributed across the globe. North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Northern Europe have the highest incidence rates. Rates are lowest in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of the Pacific Islands. Some of this variation reflects differences in genetics and environmental exposures, but a significant portion is likely due to differences in diagnostic infrastructure. Countries with more widespread access to blood testing simply detect more cases.
Certain small populations stand out for unusually high rates. Martinique, a Caribbean island that is part of France, reports some of the highest incidence figures in the world, at around 6 to 7 cases per 100,000 people. Barbados also shows elevated rates. Researchers have investigated whether environmental factors specific to these regions contribute, but no single cause has been identified.
Survival and Living With Myeloma
Multiple myeloma was once considered rapidly fatal, but outcomes have improved dramatically. Five-year survival rates have roughly doubled over the past 25 years, driven largely by newer classes of therapy that target the disease in different ways. Many patients now live a decade or more after diagnosis, and some achieve long periods of remission where the disease is undetectable.
That said, myeloma is still generally considered a cancer that can be managed but not cured in most cases. Treatment typically involves cycles of therapy to reduce the cancer, followed by periods of monitoring. Relapses are common, but each relapse can often be treated with a different combination of therapies. The growing number of people living with the disease (over 200,000 in the U.S.) reflects both rising incidence and the fact that patients are surviving much longer than they did a generation ago.
Why the Numbers Are Rising
The number of new myeloma diagnoses has been gradually increasing over the past several decades. Part of this trend is demographic: the population is aging, and myeloma is strongly tied to age. Better diagnostic tools also play a role. Blood tests and imaging that can catch the disease earlier are more widely available now than they were 20 or 30 years ago, meaning cases that might once have gone undiagnosed are now being counted.
Whether the actual biological risk of developing myeloma has increased, independent of aging and better detection, is harder to determine. Some researchers suspect that rising rates of obesity and certain environmental exposures could be contributing factors, but the evidence is still being sorted out. What is clear is that more people are being diagnosed, and more people are living with the disease, than at any previous point.