FRIDAY, Oct. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Diabetes mellitus (DM) is more prevalent among Black patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and is associated with overall survival in MM, especially among White patients, according to a study published online Sept. 29 in Blood Advances.

Urvi A. Shah, M.D., from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues conducted a retrospective clinical study of 5,383 patients with MM, of whom 15 percent had DM (12 percent in White patients and 25 percent in Black patients) to examine the correlation between DM and MM in the context of race.

The researchers found that patients with DM had reduced overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.27), which seemed to be driven by a marked difference in overall survival between White patients with and without DM that was not seen in Black patients. Obesity was associated with better overall survival in Black, but not White patients. In addition, MM growth was assessed in a genetically engineered immunocompromised nonobese diabetic (Rag1^-/-/MKR) mouse model. Compared with controls, MM1.S xenografts grew in more Rag1^-/-/MKR mice and grew more rapidly in Rag1^-/-/MKR mice. MM1.S xenografts from Rag1^-/-/MKR mice had higher phospho-S6 ribosomal protein in a Western blot analysis, indicating greater activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway.

“Our data suggests that to further improve overall survival in our patients with MM, modifiable risk factors such as DM can no longer be ignored as we improve the chemotherapeutic management of this common hematological neoplasm,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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