Exploring health disparities in diagnosing multiple myeloma.

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Oncology

Background:

• Multiple myeloma (MM) is a significant plasma cell neoplasm, representing 1-2% of all cancers.
• Patients with symptomatic MM often experience diagnostic delays, with over 50% seeing a primary care physician multiple times before specialist referral.
• Delayed diagnosis of MM negatively impacts patient outcomes, leading to reduced disease-free survival and increased treatment complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the time from initial laboratory abnormality to confirmed diagnosis of multiple myeloma.
• To identify factors contributing to diagnostic delays in multiple myeloma.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 92 patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
• Evaluation of diagnostic intervals from the first detectable lab abnormality.

Main Results:

• Fifty-two percent of patients presented with isolated anemia.
• A significant proportion of patients experienced diagnostic delays: 29% had delays of one year or more, and 18% had delays of three years or more.
• Patients with both anemia and elevated serum total protein showed the longest diagnostic intervals, with a median of 38 months.

Conclusions:

• Diagnostic delays in multiple myeloma are common, particularly when anemia is an initial finding.
• No significant differences in diagnostic time were observed across different races, ethnicities, genders, or socioeconomic statuses.
• Further research into optimizing early detection strategies for multiple myeloma is warranted.