Myeloma is one of the most common blood cancers in Finland. Over the past few years, its treatment has developed at a rapid pace, as new drug treatments have been made available. However, data on the implementation and outcomes of treatments has been lacking, and little national level information has been available.
Addressing this, the first national myeloma report now offers an overall picture of the incidence and treatment of myeloma, as well as their regional differences within Finland.
“As the drug treatment of myeloma has developed significantly over the past years, so has the need for reliable data on the implementation and outcomes of treatment”, says clinical specialist Mervi Putkonen.
Approximately 470 new treatment-requiring cases of myeloma are diagnosed in Finland each year. When compared with similar statistics from other Nordic countries, the prognosis of myeloma patients in Finland lags behind, highlighting the need for the monitoring and development of treatment.
The quality registry strengthens the knowledge base of hematological cancers
Recognizing treatment-requiring myeloma from registry data has been difficult, as the illness has an asymptomatic pre-stage, which does not require treatment. In this report, patients were identified based on Kela’s right to reimbursement of medicine costs, which enables a more reliable national monitoring from before. The report is a part of the national Cancer quality registry -project, which aims to test and develop cancer quality registry activities in a few different cancer types.
”The myeloma quality registry work significantly improves the quality and coverage of registry information on hematological cancers. This strengthens the national knowledge base and enables a more detailed monitoring of patient treatments, stem cell transplants and treatment outcomes in the whole of Finland”, says the director of Finnish Cancer Registry Janne Pitkäniemi.
”Once we get further with the work, the information can be used to improve treatment quality, effectiveness and equality of myeloma patients”, Pitkäniemi continues.
The report is the result of collaboration between the Finnish Cancer Registry, The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Finnish Cancer Center (FICAN) and the Finnish Hematology Association’s myeloma group.
Read the full report here (in Finnish): Multippeli myelooma Suomessa 2019-2023
