Disease burden, comorbidities, and treatment patterns of patients with multiple myeloma in Dubai: a retrospective analysis of the Dubai real-world claims database

This study aims to evaluate the disease burden, comorbidities, specialties consulted, and treatment pattern, in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study analyzed data from the Dubai Real-World Claims Database (DRWD) from 01 January 2014 to 30 June 2023. Patients with at least one diagnosis claim for MM and continuous enrollment were included. Patients were stratified into 3 cohorts, based on their most recent treatment response status; Not achieved remission, Remission and Relapse. Of 1,126 MM patients, most were aged 40–60 years. Not achieved remission was the predominant cohort with 431 patients. The number of new and reported MM patients ranged between 2.6 to 4.2 and 2.9 to 4.7 per 100,000 population, respectively, during the index period. The most prevalent comorbidities were diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (88.3%), followed by renal disease (27.9%), neuropathy (24.6%), and infections (24.0%). Only 34.1% (<i>n</i> = 251) of patients received MM treatment; 35 had undergone bone marrow transplantation and 153 had received systemic treatment. The most common regimen was bortezomib combined with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone or dexamethasone alone in 33% of the non-transplant and 50% of transplant patients. Most patients consulted internal medicine (28.7%), oncology (19.7%), and hematology (15.9%). The study highlights the increasing trend in the disease burden and gaps in treatment patterns in patients with MM, using real-world data from Dubai—a region with a large expatriate population. Study findings emphasize the need for health policies that prioritize the establishment of patient registries and the development of subsidized care pathways.