Multiple myeloma in the United States and India: An international, collaborative study comparing patient characteristics and treatment patterns.

Abstract

e19506 Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is one of the most common hematological malignancies globally, and has an array of treatments available, including targeted and CAR-T therapies. In this retrospective real-world data study, we investigated treatment patterns in patients with MM in the US and India using hospital chargemaster data and electronical medical records from the Premier Healthcare Database and Mango Sciences’ Healthcare Database, respectively. Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with MM (ICD-10-CM C90.0x) between 01/01/2022 and 09/30/2023 were followed for ≥ 1 year through 09/30/2024. Patient characteristics and MM-related drug treatments were described separately for patients in the United States and India. Proportions were compared using Pearson’s Chi-squared test. MM-related drug treatments included 24 individual drugs and 10 drug classes. A study protocol was developed prior to the implementation of this study. Patients with missing data were removed from the study. Results: Among patients diagnosed with MM in the US (N = 77,901) and India (N = 2,268), patients in the US (vs. India) were older (67% vs. 42% were 65+ years old), less likely to be male (55% vs. 63%), and more likely to have health insurance (99% vs. 36%). In addition, 39% and 74% received MM-related drug treatment, respectively. Among patients receiving MM-related drug treatment in the US (N = 30,242) and India (N = 1,672), the most common therapies were corticosteroids (91% and 63%) and proteasome inhibitors (31% and 85%, respectively), and patients in the US (vs. India) were more likely to receive more recently launched therapies, such as daratumumab (18% vs. 8%), bispecific agents (1.3% vs. 0.1%), and CAR-T therapy (2.4% vs. 0%). P-values < 0.001. Conclusions: US and Indian MM cohorts show strong alignment in core treatment patterns – corticosteroids are nearly universally used, and proteasome inhibitors are widely adopted – providing real-world evidence of consistent frontline care. Despite demographic and access differences, both settings rely heavily on established regimens, underscoring shared approaches in multiple myeloma management.