Global estimates of leukemia incidence by subtype
The paper presents estimated leukemia incidences for different leukemia subtypes by country, world region, and human developmental index.
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Globally, leukemia is the second most common hematological malignancy after non-Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide. However, updated global estimates of leukemia incidence by subtype are currently unavailable, with the most recent global analysis conducted for the year 2012. The recent paper “Global patterns of leukemia by subtype, age, and sex in 185 countries in 2022”, published with Springer Nature in Leukemia is an up-to-date description of the global burden of leukemia by subtype using population-based cancer registries worldwide. The paper presents 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, Daltveit et al. were able to estimate country-specific proportions of leukemia subtypes acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) by age and sex. They then applied these proportions to the GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates of leukemia in 185 countries and estimated sex-specific age-standardized rates (ASRs) separately for children and adults.
The results suggested clear geographical patterns of leukemia subtypes in adults and children across the world. The most common leukemia in adults worldwide was AML followed by CLL. Of note, in countries with high human development indexes, the ASR of CLL was higher than the ASR of AML among males and similar among females. In children, the most common leukemia globally was ALL followed by AML, with ALL proportions varying across world sub-regions from 57% to 78% among boys and from 49% to 80% among girls.
Having comparable cancer incidence statistics is essential for developing cancer prevention strategies and planning healthcare resources. This study emphasizes the importance of improving population-based cancer registration globally and expanding cancer surveillance to areas that currently are underserved.
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