High-Volume Facilities Are Linked to Improved Survival Outcomes for Patients With MM
Key Takeaways:
- The majority of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receive treatment at low-volume facilities, which may lack knowledge and experience in managing treatment plans and providing novel therapies.
- High-volume facilities had higher usage rates of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), so patients treated at these centers are more likely to receive emergent and innovative treatments.
- Facilities with a higher volume of patients with MM had a higher overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) than lower-volume facilities, implying that high-volume facilities might be more adept at treating MM.
Although previous research has established an association between facility volume and improved survival outcomes, few of these studies have focused on MM specifically. Many patients with MM are treated at low-volume centers, so a study sought to determine the effect volume has on patient outcomes.
The study used data from Komodo Health’s Healthcare Map and identified 18 646 patients with MM and 2049 treatment facilities. The facilities were categorized based on the annual number of new patients with MM: very low = ≤1; low = 1 to 5; medium = 6 to 10; high = >10.
Among the study population, 81% of patients were treated at very low-volume facilities, and 1.9% of patients were treated at high-volume facilities, providing further evidence on MM treatment patterns.
Patients at high-volume facilities were more likely to be treated with ASCT (63.7%) and CAR T-cell therapy (2.1%), highlighting the fact that high-volume centers are more experienced in providing novel treatments for MM.
A median OS was not reached for any of the facility categories. However, high-volume centers had the highest unadjusted EFS, which was 771 days. After adjustment, high-volume facilities had a higher OS than other categories. Adjusted median EFS was similar between high- and lower-volume facilities.
The findings show that high-volume facilities might improve outcomes as these centers are better equipped and more experienced in treating patients with MM. The authors said, “Experience from high volume centers can effectively be used to partner with smaller volume centers to advance MM care and be able to improve outcomes for patients.”
Reference
Landgren CO, Hevroni G, Pandey A, et al. Association between survival outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma and treatment facility volume. J Clin Oncol. 2026;44(16):7529. doi:10.1200/JCO.2026.44.16_suppl.7529
