TY - JOUR
T1 - Global patterns of leukemia by subtype, age, and sex in 185 countries in 2022
AU - Daltveit, Dagrun S
AU - Morgan, Eileen
AU - Colombet, Murielle
AU - Steliarova-Foucher, Eva
AU - Bendahhou, Karima
AU - Marcos-Gragera, Rafael
AU - Rongshou, Zheng
AU - Smith, Alexandra
AU - Wei, Hui
AU - Soerjomataram, Isabelle
N1 - © 2024. Karima Bendahhou, Rafael Marcos-Gragera, Zheng Rongshou, Prof Alexandra Smith, Hui Wei and World Health Organization, under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - In 2022, leukemia ranked as the second most common hematological malignancy after non-Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide. However, updated global estimates of leukemia incidence by subtype are unavailable. We estimated leukemia incidences for different leukemia subtypes by country, world region, and human developmental index using data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents databases combined with the GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates of leukemia in 185 countries. We estimated sex-specific age-standardized rates (ASRs) per 100 000 for children (0-19 years) and adults (20+ years). In adults, the most common leukemia worldwide was AML (males: 38%, ASR = 3·1; females: 43%, ASR = 2·4), followed by CLL (males: 28%, ASR = 2·2; females: 24%, ASR = 1·3). In very high HDI countries, the ASR of CLL was higher than the ASR of AML among males (5·2 versus 4·3, respectively) and similar among females (2·9 and 3·0, respectively). In children, the most common leukemia was ALL (boys: 70%, ASR = 2·4; girls: 68%, ASR = 1·8) followed by AML (boys: 22%, ASR = 0·76; girls: 25%, ASR = 0·65). ALL proportions varied across world sub-regions from 57 to 78% among boys, and from 49 to 80% among girls. Our findings suggest clear geographical patterns of leukemia subtypes in adults and children. Further research into underlying causes that explain these variations is needed to support cancer control strategies for prevention and plan national healthcare needs.
AB - In 2022, leukemia ranked as the second most common hematological malignancy after non-Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide. However, updated global estimates of leukemia incidence by subtype are unavailable. We estimated leukemia incidences for different leukemia subtypes by country, world region, and human developmental index using data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents databases combined with the GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates of leukemia in 185 countries. We estimated sex-specific age-standardized rates (ASRs) per 100 000 for children (0-19 years) and adults (20+ years). In adults, the most common leukemia worldwide was AML (males: 38%, ASR = 3·1; females: 43%, ASR = 2·4), followed by CLL (males: 28%, ASR = 2·2; females: 24%, ASR = 1·3). In very high HDI countries, the ASR of CLL was higher than the ASR of AML among males (5·2 versus 4·3, respectively) and similar among females (2·9 and 3·0, respectively). In children, the most common leukemia was ALL (boys: 70%, ASR = 2·4; girls: 68%, ASR = 1·8) followed by AML (boys: 22%, ASR = 0·76; girls: 25%, ASR = 0·65). ALL proportions varied across world sub-regions from 57 to 78% among boys, and from 49 to 80% among girls. Our findings suggest clear geographical patterns of leukemia subtypes in adults and children. Further research into underlying causes that explain these variations is needed to support cancer control strategies for prevention and plan national healthcare needs.
U2 - 10.1038/s41375-024-02452-y
DO - 10.1038/s41375-024-02452-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 39567675
SN - 1476-5551
VL - 39
SP - 412
EP - 419
JO - Leukemia : official journal of the Leukemia Society of America, Leukemia Research Fund, U.K
JF - Leukemia : official journal of the Leukemia Society of America, Leukemia Research Fund, U.K
IS - 2
ER -