Multiple myeloma in Hispanics “has never been studied.”
According to "Multiple Myeloma in Hispanics: Incidence, Characteristics, Survival, Results of Discovery, and Validation Using Real-World and Connect MM Registry Data,” the incidence of the disease in Hispanics has never been studied. This study aims to “determine the clinical characteristics and overall survival in multiple myeloma of Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB).” It is the first and largest analysis of multiple myeloma among Hispanics. 1
New data on multiple myeloma in Hispanics from ASH 2022
In this video filmed from the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, Dr. Kara Cicero presents a study on the impact of Hispanic ethnicity on disease characteristics in multiple myeloma.
Myeloma in Other Races and Ethnicities
According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Non-Hispanic white people and Non-Hispanic Black people in the U.S. face disparities in healthcare as well.
Some key points this study noted:2
- In the U.S., American Indian and Alaskan Natives fare better than white people in selected health measures, particularly those related to cancer. Because they are likely to be U.S. citizens and speak English well, these factors reduce their barriers to accessing health coverage and care.
- Asians, as an aggregate group, do not fare worse than white people across most examined measures. They fare the same or better compared to white people for most examined measures. Yet, Asians do fare worse in some measures such as receipt of some routine care and screening and some social determinants of health (e.g., homeownership, crowded housing, and childhood experiences with racism).
- Yet, Asians have higher shares of noncitizens and do not speak English well, which contribute to barriers in accessing health coverage and care. Moreover, the data may be masking underlying disparities among subgroups of the Asian population.
- The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and increased discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic may have also affected Asians’ health and healthcare experiences negatively.
- Insufficient data and data gaps for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) prevented the study from identifying and understanding health disparities for this group. Where data was available, NHOPIs fared worse compared to white people for at least half of the measures.
1. Kaur, G et al. “Multiple Myeloma in Hispanics: Incidence, Characteristics, Survival, Results of Discovery, and Validation Using Real-World and Connect MM Registry Data.” Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leukemia, April 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33339770/.
2. Hill, L., Artiga, S., and Halder, S. “Key Facts on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity.” Kaiser Family Foundation, January 26, 2022. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/report/key-facts-on-health-and-health-care-by-race-and-ethnicity/
With educational support from:
Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Oncopeptides, Sanofi, Takeda Oncology and The Binding Site
Disparities in healthcare are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.
