A recent analysis published in Oncotarget examines long-term mortality trends in multiple myeloma using data from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Age-adjusted mortality rates showed an increase from 1975 to 1994 (annual percent change, APC: 1.43%), followed by a modest decline from 1994 to 2002 (–0.70%). A steeper reduction was observed from 2002 to 2009 (–1.85%), after which rates plateaued between 2009 and 2014 (0.52%).
Declines resumed from 2014 to 2021 (–1.73%), with a marked and accelerated drop from 2021 to 2023 (–5.64%). These trends closely mirror therapeutic milestones, including the adoption of autologous stem cell transplantation, followed by proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs, and more recently, next-generation immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies. Overall, the findings suggest that advances in…
