Criteria for diagnosis and response

Multiple myeloma accounts for about 1 % of all types of malignancy and slightly more than 10 % of hematologic malignancies [1]. The incidence of multiple myeloma in the United States has increased from 0.8/100,000 persons in 1949 to 1.7/100,000 in 1963 and then to 3.5/100,000 for males in 1988. The incidence was 3.1/100,000 from 1945 to 1964 in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 2.7/100,000 from 1965 to 1977, 4.1/100,000 from 1978 to 1990, and 4.3/100,000 from 1991 to 2001 [2]. There was no change in incidence in Olmsted County over the 56-year period. The increased incidence reported during the past few decades in The United States is most likely due to the increased availability of medical facilities for elderly patients and improved diagnostic techniques rather than an actual increased incidence. The incidence of multiple myeloma is approximately twice as high in the African-American population as in the white population.