Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) statistics - Key Facts

• There are many sub-types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but they can all be put into one of two broad categories:

1. high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the cancer develops quickly and aggressively
2. low-grade or indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the cancer develops slowly and there may be no symptoms for many  years

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the 5th most common cancer in the UK – it is the 5th most common cancer in males and the 7th in females.
• Around 11,860 people were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the UK in 2008.
• Around 7 in 10 of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases are diagnosed in people aged 60 and over.
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates in Britain are more than two and a half times higher than they were in the mid 1970s.
• In Britain incidence rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in people aged 75 and over have more than tripled since the mid-1970s.
• In the UK around 95 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year.
• It is estimated that in the European Union there were around 74,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008.
• It is estimated that worldwide there were around 356,000 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008.

Read more in depth non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence statistics

Section updated: 07/09/11

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients are now twice as likely to survive their disease for at least 10 years as those diagnosed in the early 1970s.
• Half of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients will survive their disease for at least ten years.
• Survival rates for non-Hodgkin lymphoma are higher for younger patients. Two-thirds of patients aged under 45 will survive their disease for at least five years, compared with a third of patients aged 65-74.

Read more in depth non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival statistics

Section updated: 31/12/09

• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the 9th most common cause of cancer death in the UK – 9th in men and 7th in women.
• Around 4,440 people died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008 in the UK.
• Three quarters of all deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma occur in people aged 65 and over.
• Estimates for the European Union suggest that there were more than 31,000 deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008
• Worldwide it is estimated that there were more than 191,000 deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008
• Read more in depth non-Hodgkin lymphoma mortality statistics

Section updated: 31/12/09

• Various infections increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with the highest risks linked to infection with HIV.
• Drugs given to suppress the immune system, for example following organ transplant, also increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• A family history of non-Hodgkin lymphoma almost doubles risk.
• Occupational exposure to pesticides and benzene are linked to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Read more about the causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Section updated: 31/12/09

*age-standardised to the European population

More detailed statistics on non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be found using these links: incidence, survival, mortality, risk factors, staging, symptoms and treatment.

Section updated: 07/09/11