Disentangling age, gender, and racial/ethnic disparities in multiple myeloma burden: a modeling study

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy that is consistently preceded by an asymptomatic condition, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Disparities by age, gender, and race/ethnicity in both MGUS and MM are well-established. However, it remains unclear whether these disparities can be explained by increased incidence of MGUS and/or accelerated progression from MGUS to MM. Here, we fit a mathematical model to nationally representative data from the United States and showed that the difference in MM incidence can be explained by an increased incidence of MGUS among male and non-Hispanic Black populations. We did not find evidence showing differences in the rate of progression from MGUS to MM by either gender or race/ethnicity. Our results suggest that screening for MGUS among high-risk groups (e.g., non-Hispanic Black men) may hold promise as a strategy to reduce the burden and MM health disparities.