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For medical questions, we encourage you to review our information with your doctor.
- Chemotherapy for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- Targeted Drug Therapy for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- Biological Therapy or Immunotherapy for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- Plasmapheresis (Plasma Exchange) for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- Stem Cell Transplant for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- Radiation Therapy for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- When to Treat People with Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- References: Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
- If You Have Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
Key Statistics About Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia
Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is rare, with an incidence rate of about 3 cases per million people per year in the United States. About 1,000 to 1,500 people are diagnosed with WM each year in the United States.
WM is more common in men than it is in women , and it is much more common among White people than Black people.
There are few cases of WM in younger people, but the chance of developing this disease goes up as people get older. The average age of people when they are diagnosed with WM is 70 .
Statistics on survival are discussed in Survival Rates for Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Castillo JJ. Plasma cell disorders. Prim Care. 2016; 43:667-691. doi: 10.1016/j.pop.2016.07.002. Epub 2016 Oct 14.
Castillo JJ, Olszewski AJ, Kanan S, Meid K, Hunter ZR, Treon SP. Overall survival and competing risks of death in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: an analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Br J Haematol. 2015; 169:81-9. doi: 10.1111/bjh.13264. Epub 2014 Dec 18.
Castillo JJ, Olszewski AJ, Cronin AM, Hunter ZR, Treon SP. Survival trends in Waldenström macroglobulinemia: An analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Blood. 2014;123:3999–4000.
Sekhar J, Sanfilippo K, Zhang Q, et al. Waldenström macroglobulinemia: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database review from 1988 to 2005. Leuk Lymphoma. 2012;53:1625–1626.
Last Revised: July 19, 2018
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