Young Myeloma Patients: A Systematic Review of Manifestations and Outcomes

Abstract

Multiple myeloma usually affects older adults. However, younger patients constitute a significant subset as approximately 10% of cases occur in subjects younger than 50 years old. Young patients, who are underrepresented in the literature, are diagnosed during their most productive years of life, urging the need for tailored treatment approaches. This literature review aims to report recent studies specifically addressing young patients with a focus on characteristics at diagnosis, cytogenetics, treatments, and outcomes. We searched PubMed for studies involving young patients with multiple myeloma ≤50 years old. The time span of our literature review search was from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2022. Overall, 16 retrospective studies were analyzed for this review. Young patients with multiple myeloma tend to have less advanced disease, more frequent light chain subtypes, and survive longer compared to their older counterparts. However, available studies included a limited number of patients; the newest revised international staging system was not used to stratify patients, cytogenetics varied from one cohort to another, and most patients did not receive contemporary triplet/quadruplet treatments. This review emphasizes the need to perform contemporary, large-scale retrospective studies to improve knowledge regarding the presentation and outcomes of young myeloma patients in the era of modern treatments.