Multiple myeloma is a deadly disease in which plasma cells, a type of white blood cells, abnormally build up in the bone marrow, dissolving and damaging the bones and causing severe infections by impairing kidney function and inhibiting immune function

Although considered a disease of the elderly, multiple myeloma also occurs in the younger population in their 30s to 50s, and its incidence is increasing worldwide.

However, as more than 60% of multiple myeloma cases are known to occur in those who are in their 60s and 70s, the risk of developing multiple myeloma is certainly higher in the older population.

Also, multiple myeloma causes hypercalcemia by releasing excess calcium in the blood through bone destruction, and bone pain may also cause additional complications.

In Korea, approximately 2,000 patients are newly diagnosed every year (2020 statistics). However, patients nowadays have newfound hope as the average life expectancy of multiple myeloma has increased to over 5 years with the introduction of new and more effective drugs as well as the experts’ opinion that multiple myeloma should now be considered, managed, and treated as if it were any other chronic disease.

Multiple myeloma (diagnosis code C90) is one of the three main types of blood cancer along with myeloid leukemia (C92) and lymphocytic leukemia (C91).

Treatment for multiple myeloma has evolved from monotherapy to combination therapy, which has improved progression-free survival (PFS). With more new and innovative drugs being developed, expectation of a better future is high.