Ethnic disparities in presentation but not outcome in multiple myeloma patients: a multicenter retrospective study in Northern Israel

Abstract

Several studies showed ethnic disparities in multiple myeloma (MM) incidence and prognosis. In order to compare prognosis and overall survival between different ethnic groups, a multicenter retrospective study was conducted in Northern Israel. A total of 145 patients suffering from MM were included (72% Jewish, and 28% Arabs) who were treated between 2008–2018. A difference was found in the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis, patients of Arab origin were diagnosed at a more advanced stage (III), (53.7% vs. 33.7%, respectively). A mortality rate of 48.9% was found in the study, regardless of population ethnic origin. No significant differences in rates of MGUS, MM symptoms, treatments, or progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were observed between ethnic groups. This suggests that raising awareness of MM may result in an earlier diagnosis, especially among patients of Arab origin, preventing unnecessary suffering from these patients.

Keywords:

• Multiple myeloma
• ethnicity
• disparity
• overall survival
• progression-free survival

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.