ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the estimated number of people who will be diagnosed each year with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, also called lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. You will also read general information on surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors, and no 2 people with cancer are the same. Use the menu to see other pages.
Every person is different, with different factors influencing their risk of being diagnosed with this cancer and the chance of recovery after a diagnosis. It is important to talk with your doctor about any questions you have around the general statistics provided below and what they may mean for you individually. The original source for these statistics is provided at the bottom of this page.
How many people are diagnosed with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?
Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is uncommon. Each year, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 adults in the United States are diagnosed with the disease.
The chance of developing Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia increases as people get older. The average age of diagnosis is 70. The disease is less common in women than men and is far less common in Black people than White people.
What is the survival rate for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia?
There are different types of statistics that can help doctors evaluate a person’s chance of recovery from Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia. These are called survival statistics. A specific type of survival statistic is called the relative survival rate. It is often used to predict how having cancer may affect life expectancy. Relative survival rate looks at how likely people with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia are to survive for a certain amount of time after their initial diagnosis or start of treatment compared to the expected survival of similar people without this cancer.
Example: Here is an example to help explain what a relative survival rate means. Please note this is only an example and not specific to this type of cancer. Let’s assume that the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific type of cancer is 90%. “Percent” means how many out of 100. Imagine there are 1,000 people without cancer, and based on their age and other characteristics, you expect 900 of the 1,000 to be alive in 5 years. Also imagine there are another 1,000 people similar in age and other characteristics as the first 1,000, but they all have the specific type of cancer that has a 5-year survival rate of 90%. This means it is expected that 810 of the people with the specific cancer (90% of 900) will be alive in 5 years.
It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia are only an estimate. They cannot tell an individual person if cancer will or will not shorten their life. Instead, these statistics describe trends in groups of people previously diagnosed with the same disease, including specific stages of the disease.
The 5-year relative survival rate for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is about 78%.
The survival rates for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia vary based on several factors. These include the stage of cancer, a person’s age and general health, and how well the treatment plan works.
Experts measure relative survival rate statistics for Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia every 5 years. This means the estimate may not reflect the results of advancements in how Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is diagnosed or treated from the last 5 years. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics.
Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society website. (Source accessed March 2023.)
The next section in this guide is Risk Factors. It describes the factors that may increase the chance of developing Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia. Use the menu to choose a different section to read in this guide.