Survival outcomes for multiple myeloma over three decades: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) analysis

Abstract

8019 Background: There is limited data regarding survival outcomes for multiple myeloma in the literature. The purpose of this study was to analyze how patient characteristics and decade of treatment affect overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) for patients within a large United States (US) population database. Methods: Data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) of the US National Cancer Institute for the years 1973–2003. Patient characteristics (gender, race, age) and year of diagnosis were analyzed by multivariate Cox regression analysis for both OS and CSS endpoints. Results: 40,538 patients were included in the analysis. The mean age at diagnosis was 68.3 (median 69) years. Mean survival for the entire cohort was 41 (median 24) months. Females had better OS than males, hazard ratio (HR) 0.91 (CI 0.89–0.93, P = 0.0001), and CSS, HR 0.96 (CI 0.93–0.98, P = 0.004). There were no significant differences in OS between white and black race (P = 0.34), but black race was associated with improved CSS, HR 0.89 (CI 0.86–0.93, P = 0.0001). Younger age (age <40, 41–60, 61–70, and 71–80) was associated with improved OS and CSS (all P = 0.0001). Early treatment decade (1973–1985) was associated with diminished OS and CSS on multivariate analysis with HR 1.11 (CI 1.08–1.14, P = 0.0001) and HR 1.12 (CI 1.08–1.16, P = 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: This is the largest reported population analysis of survival outcomes for multiple myeloma. It covers three decades of care in the United States. This study reveals that improved OS and CSS are associated with younger age, female gender, and recent decade of treatment. We believe that survival improvement in recent treatment decades may be due to advances in supportive care and/or earlier diagnosis as the standard treatment for myeloma did not significantly change during this time period. Follow up studies may show dramatic improvements in survival outcomes due to modern myeloma therapies in this decade. No significant financial relationships to disclose. [Table: see text]