Ice-T teams with IMF for myeloma awareness in black community

Contributed by International Myeloma Foundation STUDIO CITY, Calif. – Working alongside the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), American songwriter, actor, producer, and well-known artist Ice-T is on a mission to help raise awareness of multiple myeloma in the African American community. Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer in the world and the most common blood cancer in African Americans. Previous studies have shown that the biology of myeloma may be different in African Americans and that they are diagnosed at a younger age (by about 5 years), as compared to white Americans. In the U.S., 1 out of every 5 myeloma patients is African American—constituting about 20 percent of all myeloma patients. That incidence continues to grow—by 2034, it is estimated that African Americans will make up about 24 percent of newly diagnosed myeloma patients. Even then, African Americans make up only about 8 percent of participants in cancer clinical trials and are less likely to receive Triplets, Transplants, and CAR T-cell therapy. These disparities are mostly caused by existing socioeconomic differences and barriers to healthcare access among African Americans with myeloma. Early diagnosis of multiple myeloma is crucial to achieve favorable outcomes yet delays from symptom onset...