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Risk Factors for Multiple Myeloma
There are several risk factors that could affect someone’s chance of getting multiple myeloma.
A risk factor is anything that raises your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For example, exposing skin to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer and many other cancers.
But risk factors don’t tell us everything. People who have no risk factors can still get a disease. Also, having a risk factor, or even several, doesn't mean that a person will get the disease.
Age
The risk of developing multiple myeloma goes up as people get older. Less than 1% of cases are diagnosed in people younger than 35. Most people diagnosed with this cancer are at least 65 years old.
Sex
Men are slightly more likely to develop multiple myeloma than women.
Race
Multiple myeloma is more than twice as common in Black people than in White people. The reason is not known.
Family history of multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma seems to run in some families. Someone who has a sibling (brother or sister) or parent with myeloma is more likely to get it than someone who does not have this family history. Still, most people with myeloma have no affected relatives, so this accounts for only a small number of cases.
Excess body weight
Research suggests that having excess body weight increases a person’s risk of developing myeloma.
Having other plasma cell diseases
People with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or solitary plasmacytoma are at higher risk of developing multiple myeloma than people who do not have these diseases.
Exposure to radiation or to certain chemicals
People who have been exposed to radiation or to certain chemicals may be at higher risk for developing myeloma. For example, there is some evidence that people who were exposed to certain herbicides, such as Agent Orange, have a higher risk of myeloma.
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- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Alexander DD, Mink PJ, Adami HO, et al. Multiple myeloma: A review of the epidemiologic literature. Int J Cancer. 2007;120 Suppl 12:40-61.
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Jevremovic D. Multiple myeloma: Pathobiology. UpToDate. 2024. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/multiple-myeloma-pathobiology on January 6, 2025.
Laubach JP. Multiple myeloma: Clinical features, laboratory manifestations, and diagnosis. UpToDate. 2024. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/multiple-myeloma-clinical-features-laboratory-manifestations-and-diagnosis on January 6, 2025.
Leuraud K, Laurier D, Gillies M, et al. Leukaemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma mortality after low-level exposure to ionising radiation in nuclear workers (INWORKS): updated findings from an international cohort study. Lancet Haematol. 2024;11(10):e761-e769.
Marshall A. Lichtman. Obesity and the risk for a hematological malignancy: Leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. Oncologist. 2010; 15(10):1083–1101.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018). Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2018. Accessed at https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25137/veterans-and-agent-orange-update-11-2018 on January 6, 2025.
Rajkumar SV, Dispenzieri A. Chapter 101: Multiple myeloma and related disorders. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 6th edition. Philadelphia, PA. Elsevier: 2020.
VanValkenburg ME, Pruitt GI, Brill IK, et al. Family history of hematologic malignancies and risk of multiple myeloma: Differences by race and clinical features. Cancer Causes Control. 2016;27(1):81-91.
Last Revised: February 28, 2025
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