I have friends who have it and they recommended me to test for it as there are easy tests for that.
Multiple myeloma is the third most common blood cancer, following non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, accounting for approximately 10% of all hematologic malignancies and roughly 1%–2% of all cancers.
Key ranking and statistics for multiple myeloma:
- Rank: 3rd most common blood cancer.
- Percentage of Blood Cancers: ~10%.
- Percentage of All Cancers: ~1–2%.
- Prevalence: It is the second most common hematological malignancy in high-income countries.
- Incidence: Roughly 36,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S. (as of 2026 projections).
- Age/Risk: Mostly affects adults in their late 60s or older.
- Survival: The five-year survival rate is approximately 61–62%.
It is characterized by the accumulation of cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow, which crowd out healthy cells, weaken the immune system, and damage bones.
Multiple Myeloma Test at Labcorp
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Multiple Myeloma Profile (Order Code 120256): This is a convenient single-order code for the three guideline-recommended diagnostic tests:
- Serum Protein Electrophoresis (SPEP): Quantifies albumin and globulin fractions and identifies “M-spikes”.
- Serum Immunofixation (sIFE): Identifies the specific type of heavy- and light-chain patterns.
- Serum Free Light Chain (sFLC) Plus Ratio: Measures kappa and lambda free light chains, which is critical for initial diagnostic work-up.