Globally, multiple myeloma affected 488,000 people and resulted in 101,100 deaths in 2015. This is up from 49,000 in 1990.

Most cases of SPB progress to multiple myeloma within 2–4 years of diagnosis, but the overall median survival for SPB is 7–12 years. 30–50% of extramedullary plasmacytoma cases progress to multiple myeloma with a median time of 1.5–2.5 years. 15–45% of SPB and 50–65% of extramedullary plasmacytoma are disease free after 10 years.

Plasmacytomas are a rare form of cancer. SPB is the most common form of the disease and accounts for 3-5% of all plasma cell malignancies. The median age at diagnosis for all plasmacytomas is 55. Both SPB and extramedullary plasmacytoma are more prevalent in males; with a 2:1 male to female ratio for SPB and a 3:1 ratio for extramedullary plasmacytoma.

With high-dose therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation, the median survival has been estimated in 2003 to be approximately 4.5 years, compared to a median of approximately 3.5 years with "standard" therapy. Overall the 5-year survival rate is around 35%.

The International Staging System can help to predict survival, with a median survival (in 2005) of 62 months for stage 1 disease, 45 months for stage 2 disease, and 29 months for stage 3 disease.

The prognoses for patients with multiple myeloma, as those with other diseases, are not the same for everyone. The average age of onset is 70 years. Older patients are often experiencing other serious diseases, which affect survival. Younger patients might have much longer survival rates.

At the Mayo Clinic, MGUS transformed into multiple myeloma or similar lymphoproliferative disorder at the rate of about 1-2% a year, or 17%, 34%, and 39% at 10, 20, and 25 years, respectively, of follow-up—among surviving patients. However, because they were elderly, most patients with MGUS died of something else and did not go on to develop multiple myeloma. When this was taken into account, only 11.2% developed lymphoproliferative disorders.

Kyle studied the prevalence of myeloma in the population as a whole (not clinic patients) in Olmsted County, Minnesota. They found that the prevalence of MGUS was 3.2% in people above 50, with a slight male predominance (4.0% vs. 2.7%). Prevalence increased with age: of people over 70 up to 5.3% had MGUS, while in the over-85 age group the prevalence was 7.5%. In the majority of cases (63.5%), the paraprotein level was <1 g/dl, while only a very small group had levels over 2 g/dl. A study of monoclonal protein levels conducted in Ghana showed a prevalence of MGUS of approximately 5.9% in African men over the age of 50.

In 2009, prospective data demonstrated that all or almost all cases of multiple myeloma are preceded by MGUS. In addition to multiple myeloma, MGUS may also progress to Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, primary amyloidosis, B-cell lymphoma, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The protein electrophoresis test should be repeated annually, and if there is any concern for a rise in the level of monoclonal protein, then prompt referral to a hematologist is required. The hematologist, when first evaluating a case of MGUS, will usually perform a skeletal survey (X-rays of the proximal skeleton), check the blood for hypercalcemia and deterioration in renal function, check the urine for Bence Jones protein and perform a bone marrow biopsy. If none of these tests are abnormal, a patient with MGUS is followed up once every 6 months to a year with a blood test (serum protein electrophoresis). Although patients with MGUS have sometimes been reported to suffer from Small Fiber Neuropathy in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance:a debilitating condition which causes bizarre sensory problems to painful sensory problems. peripheral neuropathy, no treatment is indicated.

Of all cancers involving the lymphocytes, 1% of cases are WM.

WM is a rare disorder, with fewer than 1,500 cases occurring in the United States annually. The median age of onset of WM is between 60 and 65 years, with some cases occurring in late teens.

Bone lesions are caused by an imbalance of regulatory factors, characterized by an increased depletion and resorption of old bone tissue and a decrease in bone rebuilding, known as bone remodeling. This imbalance is due to a flooding of regulatory factors released by specific tumors, thus overwhelming the tissue repair system and resulting in these lesions. The over-activity of osteoclasts can also cause hypercalcemia, which can cause damage to the kidneys and requires additional medication and monitoring.

In multiple myeloma, an increased number of myeloma cells block osteoblasts from creating new bone, while these cancerous cells also release factors that cause an upregulation on osteoclasts, causing an increasing in bone tissue resorption and an overall breakdown of bone integrity. This breakdown often begins in the bone marrow near tumor sites and spreads outward to the surface of the implicated bone.

The most common cancers that metastasize to osteolytic lesions are prostate, thyroid, lung and breast, though any cancer can cause bone lesions. Lesions are most often found in larger bones, such as the skull, pelvis, radius, and femur.

Current medical treatments result in survival of some longer than 10 years; in part this is because better diagnostic testing means early diagnosis and treatments. Older diagnosis and treatments resulted in published reports of median survival of approximately 5 years from time of diagnosis. Currently, median survival is 6.5 years. In rare instances, WM progresses to multiple myeloma.

The International Prognostic Scoring System for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (IPSSWM) is a predictive model to characterise long-term outcomes. According to the model, factors predicting reduced survival are:

- Age > 65 years

- Hemoglobin ≤ 11.5 g/dL

- Platelet count ≤ 100×10/L

- B2-microglobulin > 3 mg/L

- Serum monoclonal protein concentration > 70 g/L

The risk categories are:

- Low: ≤ 1 adverse variable except age

- Intermediate: 2 adverse characteristics or age > 65 years

- High: > 2 adverse characteristics

Five-year survival rates for these categories are 87%, 68% and 36%, respectively. The corresponding median survival rates are 12, 8, and 3.5 years.

The IPSSWM has been shown to be reliable. It is also applicable to patients on a rituximab-based treatment regimen. An additional predictive factor is elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH).

An osteolytic lesion (from the Greek words for "bone" (ὀστέον), and "to unbind" (λύειν)) is a softened section of a patient's bone formed as a symptom of specific diseases, including breast cancer and multiple myeloma. This softened area appears as a hole on X-ray scans due to decreased bone density. Osteolytic lesions can cause pain, increased risk of bone fracture, and spinal chord compression. These lesions can be treated using biophosphonates or radiation, though new solutions are being tested in clinical trials.

This is a rare disease, with less than 100 cases reported. Of these cases, an equal male:female ratio was observed,

with cases typically seen in older adults.

Myelophthisis can occur in the setting of chronic myeloproliferative disease (e.g. myelofibrosis), leukemia, lymphoma, and metastatic carcinoma or myeloma. It is common in people who have chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis. It has been linked to small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer or prostate cancer that metastasizes to the bone marrow.

Historically, the most common cause of displacement of healthy bone marrow was tuberculosis.

Currently, the most common cause is displacement of bone marrow by metastatic cancer (extramedullary hematopoiesis tends to be modest). Other causes include myeloproliferative disorders (especially late-stage or spent polycythemia vera), granulomatous diseases, and (lipid) storage diseases. Myelofibrosis can occur in all of these.

Factors that may contribute to decreased RBC production include a decreased quantity of functioning hematopoietic tissue, disordered metabolism related to the underlying disorder, and, in some cases, erythrophagocytosis.

The medication(s) listed below have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as orphan products for treatment of this condition. Learn more orphan products.

MBL has been found in less than 1% of asymptomatic adults under age 40, and in around 5% of adults older than 60. Exact numbers depend on the population studied and the sensitivity of the diagnostic technique.

Like CLL, it appears to be more common in males.

It is also a common finding among older adults with unexplained lymphocytosis.

Recent studies suggest that CLL is very often preceded by MBL,

and that MBL progresses to CLL requiring treatment at a rate of around 1-2% per year. Advancing age and high initial B cell count predispose to progression from MBL to CLL; however, only a small fraction of people with MBL die because of CLL.

Thus, MBL could be regarded as a premalignant condition from which some cases progress to CLL (much similar to the progression of some cases of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to multiple myeloma).

No treatment is required, but follow-up might be able to detect new diagnoses of CLL. However, this might lead to increased costs, repeated investigations, unnecessary anxiety about cancer and health insurance concerns, while there is no means to prevent progression to CLL.

Some cases of myelophthisis are thought to be related to the release of cytokines that simulate fibroblastic proliferation and fibrosis in the marrow.

The majority (90%) of cases have not had detectable cytogenetic abnormalities. Most importantly, the Philadelphia chromosome and other BCR/ABL fusion genes are not detected.

Treatment of bone tumors is highly dependent on the type of tumor.

Taken together, haematological malignancies account for 9.5% of new cancer diagnoses in the United States and 30,000 patients in the UK are diagnosed each year. Within this category, lymphomas are more common than leukemias.

In the animal kingdom there also exists a non-pathological form of osteosclerosis, resulting in unusually solid bone structure with little to no marrow. It is often seen in aquatic vertebrates, especially those living in shallow waters, providing ballast as an adaptation for an aquatic lifestyle. It makes bones heavier, but also more fragile. In those animal groups osteosclerosis often occurs together with bone thickening (pachyostosis). This joint occurrence is called pachyosteosclerosis.

Approximately eight to 40 children are born in the United States each year with the malignant infantile type of osteopetrosis. One in every 100,000 to 500,000 individuals is born with this form of osteopetrosis. Higher rates have been found in Denmark and Costa Rica. Males and females are affected in equal numbers.

The adult type of osteopetrosis affects about 1,250 individuals in the United States. One in every 200,000 individuals is affected by the adult type of osteopetrosis. Higher rates have been found in Brazil. Males and females are affected in equal numbers.

The odds are greater in the Russian region of Mari El (1 of every 14,000 newborns) and much greater in Chuvashia (1 of every 3,500—4,000 newborns) due to genetic features of the Mari people and Chuvash people, respectively.

Leukemia is rarely associated with pregnancy, affecting only about 1 in 10,000 pregnant women. How it is handled depends primarily on the type of leukemia. Acute leukemias normally require prompt, aggressive treatment, despite significant risks of pregnancy loss and birth defects, especially if chemotherapy is given during the developmentally sensitive first trimester.

Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is a plasma cell dyscrasia, i.e. a disease involving the malignant degeneration of a subtype of white blood cells called plasma cells. It is the terminal stage and most aggressive form of these dyscrasias, constituting 2% to 4% of all cases of plasma cell malignancies. PCL may present as primary plasma cell leukemia, i.e. in patients without prior history of a plasma cell dyscrasia or as secondary plasma cell dyscrasia, i.e. in patients previously diagnosed with a history of its predecessor dyscrasia, multiple myeloma. The two forms of PCL appear to be at least partially distinct from each other. In all cases, however, PCL is an extremely serious, life-threatening, and therapeutically challenging disease.

A bone tumor (also spelled bone tumour) is a neoplastic growth of tissue in bone. Abnormal growths found in the bone can be either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Average five-year survival in the United States after being diagnosed with bone and joint cancer is 67%.

Risk factors for osteoporotic fracture can be split between nonmodifiable and (potentially) modifiable. In addition, osteoporosis is a recognized complication of specific diseases and disorders. Medication use is theoretically modifiable, although in many cases, the use of medication that increases osteoporosis risk may be unavoidable.

Caffeine is not a risk factor for osteoporosis.

It is more likely in females than males.

Little is yet known about the causes of MBL, but as it is a "forme fruste" of CLL the etiologies of these two conditions would be closely related. Genetic changes that can be found in CLL have also been found in MBL, and relatives of people with CLL have a much higher chance of having MBL (13% of first-degree relatives in one study).

One concern about MBL is related to blood transfusions. MBL was found in 0.14% of blood donors in one study. It is unknown whether blood transfusion can transmit MBL.