Causes of Death Among Patients with Multiple Myeloma: A 10 Year Longitudinal Analysis of a Population-Based Cohort in Ontario, Canada

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of plasma cells most commonly diagnosed in older adults. Overall survival has improved in patients diagnosed with MM over the last two decades; however, there remains a paucity of data on the causes of death among MM patients and whether this changes during the disease trajectory. Understanding the relative rates of MM-specific versus non-MM cause of deaths is critical in guiding decisions regarding treatment options, monitoring strategies, supportive care, and patient counselling to enable shared decision making. Thus, we conducted a population-based study with following objectives: 1) to evaluate the rates of MM-specific vs non-MM cause of death and 2) to identify prognostic factors associated with cause specific death among patients with MM.