What is Myeloma?

Myeloma, is a type of cancer arising from plasma cells which are found in the bone marrow.

Normal plasma cells produce antibodies (also called immunoglobulins) to help fight infection. In myeloma, malignant plasma cells (myeloma cells) in the bone marrow produce large amounts of an abnormal antibody known as paraprotein. Unlike normal antibodies, paraprotein lacks the capacity to fight infection and has no useful function.

Who Gets Myeloma?

Myeloma most commonly occurs in people later in their life i.e. over the age of 60. However, some myeloma patients can be younger. Myeloma is slightly more common in men than in women. Myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer. There are about 4,000 new cases per year in the UK, this means there are between 14 - 20,000 people are living with myeloma at any one time.

Figures

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that five-year survival rates in myeloma are increasing at one of the fastest paces among all cancer types in the UK. It is hoped that these improvements will continue. Over the past five to 10 years there has been a significant increase in the number of drugs available to treat myeloma and this has helped improve survival and improve the quality of life of myeloma patients.