Epidemiological Characteristics of Multiple Myeloma in the Republic of Crimea

INTRODUCTION: The epidemiology of multiple myeloma (MM) in Russia has not been sufficiently studied, however, it is important for understanding its prevalence in connection with increase in life expectancy of the population and the projected increase in morbidity MM.

AIM: To study the main epidemiological and clinical-demographic indicators of MM in the Republic of Crimea for 2019–2022.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective analysis of medical records of 173 patients with MM, who were undergoing outpatient and inpatient treatment in the hematology and chemotherapy department of Efetov Crimean Republican Oncological Clinical Dispensary was conducted. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using the Microsoft Office application package and descriptive and parametric statistical methods.

RESULTS: Of the 713 patients MM were diagnosed of 91 women (66.5±11.1) years and 82 men (59.7±10.0) years. The men-to-women ratio was 0.9:1, which does not correspond to the global trends in MM development. The average incidence during the study period was 1.4 per 100 thousand, the average prevalence was 3.92 per 100 thousand, with the prevalence rate increased by 67.0% from the baseline. Patients with stage III of the disease according to the Durie–Salmon classification predominated — 97 (56.0%) patients. Mortality was 8.5 per 100 thousand among men and 6.0 per 100 thousand among women. The 5-year survival rate of patents with MM was 45.0%, the median survival was 38 months.

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MM in the Republic of Crimea almost twice exceeds that in other regions of Russia. A steady increase in the incidence rate has been detected, which is probably due to improvement of the MM detectability as a result of regular prophylactic medical examinations of the population.