Plasmacytoma: How common is Plasmacytoma?

February 15, 2005 (Press Release) -- How common is Plasmacytoma?

There are about 12,000 new cases of "plasma cell neoplasms", which includes plasmacytoma and multiple myeloma, each year in the U.S.A. About 1,000 of these cases are"solitary plasmacytoma" each year, the remainder are multiple myeloma at diagnosis. The number of cases increases with age. 98% of patients are over 40 years old, and 60% of patients are males. The disease is more common in Black individuals than Whites. Multiple Myeloma causes about 7000 deaths per year. Concerning plasmacytomas, there are two basic types--"solitary plasmacytoma of bone" and"extramedullary plasmacytoma." Obviously, the plasmacytoma of bone starts in bone. In contrast, the "extramedullary" type starts in soft tissue like fat or muscle. These types have different characters. Generally, the "plasmacytoma of bone" is more likely to progress to multiple myeloma (>70% at 10 years) than "extramedullary plasmacytoma (20% at 10 years). Multiple plasmacytomas are multiple myeloma by definition.