INCIDENCE AND OUTCOME OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1960 TO 1984

Abstract

All patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma in Western Australia have been registered since 1960; 337 men and 280 women were registered in the period 1960–84. During this period there was a 25% increase in incidence. Age adjusted incidence rates rose from 2.34 per 100 000 person years in men and 1.64 in women during the decade 1960–69 to 2.95 in men and 1.92 in women in 1980–84. Overall, the incidence was 1.36 times higher in men than in women (95% confidence interval 1.16–1.59). Survival from multiple myeloma improved substantially during the period. In 1960–69, median survival for both sexes was six months, in 1970–79 it was 19 months, and in 1980–84 median survival in men was 43 months w..