Myeloma statistics

Cases

New cases of myeloma each year, 2017-2019 average, UK.

Deaths

Deaths from myeloma, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Survival

Survive myeloma for 10 or more years, 2013-2017, England

Prevention

Myeloma cases are preventable, UK, 2015

  • There are around 6,200 new myeloma cases in the UK every year, that's 17 every day (2017-2019).
  • Myeloma is the 19th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 2% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, myeloma is the 18th most common cancer, with around 2,600 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, myeloma is the 16th most common cancer, with around 3,600 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for myeloma in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than 4 in 10 (43%) of all new myeloma cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, myeloma incidence rates have increased by more than a third (36%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by a quarter (25%), and rates in males have increased by two-fifths (40%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, myeloma incidence rates have increased by a tenth (10%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than a twentieth (7%), and rates in males have increased by around a tenth (11%) (2017-2019).
  • Myeloma incidence rates are projected to rise by less than 1% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 8,300 new cases of myeloma every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Myeloma incidence rates in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Myeloma incidence rates for persons are lower in the Asian ethnic group, higher in the Black ethnic group, and similar in people of mixed or multiple ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details, including breakdowns for sex.
  • An estimated 17,600 people who had previously been diagnosed with myeloma were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth myeloma incidence statistics

  • There are around 3,100 myeloma deaths in the UK every year, that's more than 8 every day (2017-2019).
  • Myeloma is the 17th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 2% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, myeloma is the 16th most common cause of cancer death, with around 1,400 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, myeloma is the 16th most common cause of cancer death, with around 1,700 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for myeloma in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year around 6 in 10 of all myeloma deaths (61%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, myeloma mortality rates have increased by almost three-fifths (57%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around two-fifths (41%), and rates in males have increased by more than two-thirds (68%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, myeloma mortality rates have remained stable in the UK. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • Myeloma mortality rates are projected to fall by 3% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 4,500 deaths of myeloma every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Myeloma in England is not associated with deprivation.

See more in-depth myeloma mortality statistics

  • Almost 1 in 3 (29.1%) people diagnosed with myeloma in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Myeloma ten-year survival in England is similar in females and males (2013-2017).
  • Almost 6 in 10 (55.7%) people in England diagnosed with myeloma aged 15-54 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around 3 in 20 (14.4%) people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Myeloma survival has quadrupled in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, almost 1 in 10 (6.4%) people diagnosed with myeloma survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was a third (32.5%).
  • Almost 6 in 10 (57.0%) people in England diagnosed with myeloma in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with around half (50.6%) of people in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • For myeloma, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further survival statistics by stage can be found on the Early Diagnosis Data Hub and information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
  • Further one-, five- and ten-year survival statistics can be found on the Cancer Statistics Dashboard.
Find further information on our myeloma cancer survival trends page

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • 1 in 83 UK males and 1 in 116 UK females will be diagnosed with myeloma in their lifetime.
  • 14% of myeloma cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth myeloma risk statistics

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.