Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells in the blood. It has been reported that non-Hispanic Black individuals are diagnosed with multiple myeloma at twice the rate as non-Hispanic White individuals.

This difference was something that Drs. Peres and Gillis wanted to understand how to better help our patients.

They performed this study to see if there are differences in demographic, clinical and molecular factors among diverse patients with multiple myeloma. They also wanted to see if there are differences in the biology of cancers between different racial and ethnic groups that might explain clinical disparities observed among multiple myeloma patients.

About 500 TCC participants were included in this study. They found that age of onset and survival disparities exist for racial and ethnic minority patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

In addition, they found differences in mutations in tumor and blood (ie, clonal hematopoiesis) and these differences may contribute to disparities in outcomes observed. The causes of these disparities are complex and likely multifactorial but remain unclear.

Read the full study.

Principal investigators of the study:

Nancy Gillis, PhD