incidence & prevalence in canada

Multiple myeloma is the second most prevalent blood cancer after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

There are approximately 6,000 Canadians living with myeloma. According to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2008 it is estimated that in 2008, 2,100 new cases of myeloma will be diagnosed in Canada, and there will be 1,350 myeloma deaths.  Men outnumber women among both newly diagnosed cases (1,150 men and 960 women) and deaths (730 men and 630 women).  Myeloma makes up 1.3 percent of all new cancer cases in Canada and 1.9 percent of all cancer deaths. Relatively little research has been conducted on the epidemiology of myeloma in Canada.  

The average age at diagnosis is 62 years for men and 61 years for women, and only 4% of cases are diagnosed in individuals under the age of 45.

We know that the incidence of myeloma varies from country to country, from a low of less than one per 100,000 people in China to a high of about four per 100,000 in most Western industrialized countries.  In the United States, myeloma is more common in African Americans than Caucasians.