Leukaemia statistics - Key Facts

• Leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow.
• There are four main types of leukaemia: acute myeloid (AML), acute lymphoblastic (ALL), chronic myeloid (CML) and chronic lymphocytic (CLL).

section updated 31/01/12

• Acute myeloid leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia each account for around a third of all leukaemias diagnosed in the UK. 
• Chronic myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia each account for around 1 in 12 cases. 
• Overall, leukaemia is the twelfth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for around 2.5% of all cancers. 
• Around 7,700 people were diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK in 2008, that’s around 21 people every day.
• Leukaemia is the tenth most common cancer in males in the UK and the tenth most common cancer in females. 
• Around a third of all cancers diagnosed in children are leukaemias. 
• Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of leukaemia in children. More than three-quarters of all leukaemias diagnosed in children are this type. 
• Around 470 new cases of leukaemia were diagnosed in children under 15 in 2008 in the UK.
• Although leukaemia is the most common cancer of childhood, more than 9 in 10 cases are diagnosed in adults. 
• More than 8 in 10 of all new cases of leukaemia are diagnosed in people aged 50 or older, and around half are in people aged 70 or over.
• Worldwide, around 350,000 people were diagnosed with leukaemia in 2008.

Read more in-depth leukaemia incidence statistics.

section updated 31/01/12

• Around 40% of people with leukaemia survive the disease for at least five years after diagnosis.
• Five year survival rates for leukaemia have more than tripled in the last thirty years
• Leukaemia ten year survival rates have quadrupled since the early 1970s. Around a third of people diagnosed with leukaemia will survive their disease for at least ten years.
• People diagnosed with leukaemia today are now four times as likely to survive their disease for at least 10 years than those diagnosed in the early 1970s.
• The proportion of people who survive leukaemia for at least one year after diagnosis with the disease has doubled since the 1970s from around 3 in 10 to 6 in 10.
• Survival rates for leukaemia are highest in younger people.
• More than 8 in 10 children with the most common type of leukaemia survive the disease for at least five years after diagnosis.

Read more in-depth leukaemia survival statistics

section updated 12/07/10

• Leukaemia is the ninth most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
• In the UK in 2009, almost 4,500 people died from leukaemia, that's around 12 people every day.
• More than 4 in 5 deaths from leukaemia are in people aged 60 and over.
• Around 60 children under 15 died from leukaemia in 2009 in the UK.
• Worldwide, it is estimated that more than a quarter of a million people died from leukaemia in 2008

Read more in-depth leukaemia mortality statistics.

section updated 31/01/12

• Ionising radiation is an established risk factor for leukaemia.
• Smoking increases the risk of myeloid leukaemia.
• Occupational exposure to the chemicals benzene and formaldehyde increase the risk of developing leukaemia.
• Radiation therapy and some types of chemotherapy used in cancer treatment can increase the risk of developing leukaemia.
• Children with Down’s Syndrome are at greater risk of developing leukaemia.

section updated 31/01/12

*age-standardised to the European population 
More in depth leukaemia statistics can be found using these links: incidence, survival, mortality.

section updated 31/01/12