Behind the headlines: How many people are living with myeloma? 

You may have noticed that recently, there has been a change in the number of people we report as living with myeloma in the UK. There are now over 33,000 people living with myeloma. 

We know that every person affected by myeloma is one too many, so Ali Allen, our Senior Scientific Knowledge and Communications Officer explains more about this change in number what the statistics really mean.  

What’s changed and why? 

For the last few years, we’ve been talking about the 24,000 people living with myeloma. Myeloma UK have a team that manages and maintains the statistics that we use and a recent update means we are now starting to share the new figures. 

From now on you will instead see us talking about over 33,000 people living with myeloma in the UK.  

Whilst this may seem like a big change, the number of people living with cancer in general is increasing, both in the UK and globally. So, we expect to see this reflected for myeloma too.  

Why are there more people living with cancer? 

It’s common to hear about increasing numbers of people living with different kinds of cancers. There’s no single explanation for this, and it’s a complex picture with lots of factors contributing to the changing numbers. Some of the key reasons that we expect to see rising numbers of people living with myeloma include: 

We have an ageing population

Myeloma, like many other cancers, is more common in older people. This means as more people live longer, the number of people diagnosed and living with myeloma naturally rises.  

We have better detection and earlier diagnoses

We know we face challenges in this area, which is why preventing myeloma is one of our three areas underpinning everything we do. But things are improving and better diagnostic techniques, and awareness, are leading to earlier identification of myeloma. This means the number of recorded cases increases.  

We have more and better myeloma treatments

From no myeloma-specific cancer treatments 25 years ago, we now have a range of treatments that can be given in multiple combinations today. This means that over time, more people are living longer with myeloma, and so the number of people living with myeloma rises.  

These factors, among others, mean that we expect the amount of people living with myeloma to rise.  

Why has the increase been so big? 

The sources of data that we use to work out the number of people living with myeloma in the UK do not typically provide updates on an annual basis. For example, the data we have been using until recently, 24,000 people, covered a 20-year period from 1995–2015. This was only recently updated to a 20-year period spanning 2001–2021.  

This means that instead of seeing a gradual increase, changing just a little each year, we see 6 years’ worth of combined increase all at once. 

What can we expect in the future? 

Whilst the number of people living with myeloma is growing, it’s important to understand that on a year-by-year basis, this increase is gradual and that the figures also reflect positive developments in healthcare. More people are being diagnosed sooner and, thanks to better treatments, living longer.  

We know this means that there is more to do but we are here for the long haul – for everyone, every day. Myeloma UK are here so that no one faces myeloma alone.  

FAQs 

Where does Myeloma UK collect data from? 

At Myeloma UK, we use data from national cancer registries to determine the number of people living with myeloma in the UK. Cancer registries are databases which contain information about people who have had a cancer diagnosis, collected directly from hospitals and healthcare professionals. These registries carefully anonymise the data, removing any person-identifiable information and rigorously check the data before releasing it to the public. This is why they are considered the gold-standard for this type of data and by using these sources, Myeloma UK can be sure we are using the most reliable statistics we can.  

We also explore a wider range of data from other databases and peer-reviewed literature to produce other statistics – our team is always careful to critically examine possible sources to make sure we bring the most accurate information to you.  

Why is there no update beyond 2021? 

Even though it’s 2025, the latest update uses data collected from 2001–2021. This might seem strange but it’s normal to see a delay between when the data is collected and when it is made publicly available.  

This is because before the cancer registries are able to release data for use by others, they carry out a rigorous process to organise, process and explore the data. This takes a long time, which is why there’s a delay between when the data is collected and when it’s released. 

There are some sources which produce more up-to-date databases and the Myeloma UK team does use these on occasion. However, the data has not typically undergone the same rigorous testing, so despite the delay, we prefer to work with the gold-standard data whenever possible.