Leukemia

Leukemia (leukaemia in Commonwealth English) is a group of blood diseases characterized by malignancies (cancer) of the blood-forming tissues. Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer in the industrialised world; in the UK, around one in 2000 children are affected.

Prognosis

27,900 adults and 2,300 children are diagnosed each year with leukemia in the US. Over the last thirty years, the chances of survival have doubled from a 22 per cent survival rate in 1970 to 43 per cent rate in the 1990s. There is however a wide range in prognosis amongst the different types of leukemia: the outlook for an elderly patient with AML remains very poor, whilst 8 out of 10 children with ALL will now be cured.

Related Topics:
US - 1970 - 1990s - AML - ALL

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