Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy that accounts for approximately a tenth of all blood cancers. The last two decades, have witnessed considerable improvement in survival rates driven by a better understanding of the biology of MM and the development of novel therapies to treat MM. Despite these advancements, MM remains an incurable disease. Marked disparities exist by race and ethnicity for MM, particularly a higher incidence and an earlier age of onset of MM among Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and Latinx individuals compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. Inequities in receipt and time to utilization of novel therapies and stem cell transplantation as well as participation in clinical trials have also been observed for Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and Latinx patients with a diagnosis of MM compared to Non-Hispanic White patients, yet Non-Hispanic Black patients have slightly better survival rates compared to Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic patients with MM. Most of the ongoing work to characterize and elucidate causes of these racial and ethnic disparities in MM etiology, outcomes, and treatment response compares Black and Non-Hispanic White individuals, with the Hispanic and Latinx population vastly understudied. Here, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on racial and ethnic differences in the epidemiology, biology, and clinical outcomes of patients with MM, with a special emphasis on Hispanic and Latinx individuals. We additionally discuss potential opportunities to consider for disparities research that includes Hispanic and Latinx patients with MM. Despite the encouraging progress in the study of health disparities in MM thus far, our review highlights the critical gaps that still remain to better understand MM in diverse populations and to develop more effective tools and approaches to provide all patients diagnosed with MM meaningful and transformative care.
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