Introduction

One of the most common questions patients ask when they first receive their diagnosis of myeloma is “how long do I have to live?”

This is a difficult question to answer, however patients are entitled to have some idea of their prognosis, that is, the probable course and outcome of disease. Very often, nurses are the healthcare professionals to which these types of questions are directed.

In myeloma, survival outcomes are determined not only by the extent of the disease (stage) but also by various markers of disease (prognostic factors), as well as individual host factors (age, overall health).

The following describes the staging systems for myeloma and other commonly recognised prognostic factors.