Undertreatment of Older Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma in the Era of Novel Therapies

Conclusions In the present retrospective study of data from the SEER–Medicare database, we found that age, health status, race, and socioeconomic status were associated with receipt of MM treatment. These factors have previously been linked to reduced usage of specific treatments for MM, such as stem cell transplantation. To the best of our knowledge, however, ours is the first study to show their association with the receipt of any MM therapy. Micro-Abstract Identifying populations of older adults with myeloma who receive no treatment could help mitigate disparities. Among 3800 patients with active myeloma in the SEER–Medicare database, almost 40% had no insurance claims for systemic treatment. Older age, poor performance indicators, comorbidities, African-American race, and lower socioeconomic status, including enrollment in Medicaid, were significant factors associated with receipt of no systemic treatment.
Source: Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research