INFORMATION & STATISTICS

STATISTICS

Every 4 minutes one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Leukemia is a malignant disease (cancer) that originates in a cell in the marrow.

An estimated 245,225 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from leukemia.

An estimated 44,790 new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed in the United States in 2009.

New cases of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma account for 9.5 percent of the 1,479,350 new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States this year.

Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma will cause the deaths of an estimated 53,240 people in the United States this year.

These blood cancers will account for nearly 9.5 percent of the deaths from cancer in 2009 based on the 562,340 total cancer-related deaths.

Every ten minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. This statistic represents nearly 146 people each day or more than six people every hour.

Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults.

It is anticipated that approximately 21,870 deaths in the United States will be attributed to leukemia in 2009

• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia - The most common types of leukemia in adults are acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), with an estimated 12,810 new cases in 2009.
• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia - About 5,760 new cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) are expected to be diagnosed this year. ALL is the most common type of leukemia under the age of 15.
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia - About 5,050 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in 2009. It is estimated that approximately 22,475 people in the United States are living with CML.
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia - Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of four main types of leukemia. More people are living with CLL than any other type of leukemia. An estimated 15,490 new cases will be diagnosed this year.
• Hairy Cell Leukemia - Hairy cell leukemia is a subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

A QUICK LOOK INTO LEUKEMIA

Leukemia is a malignant disease (cancer) of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into four categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved. Leukemia is the general term used to describe four different disease-types called: Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

The terms lymphocytic or lymphoblastic indicate that the cancerous change takes place in a type of marrow cell that forms lymphocytes. The terms myelogenous or myeloid indicate that the cell change takes place in a type of marrow cell that normally goes on to form red cells, some types of white cells, and platelets.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia are each composed of blast cells, known as lymphoblasts or myeloblasts. Acute leukemias progress rapidly without treatment.

Chronic leukemias have few or no blast cells. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia usually progress slowly compared to acute leukemias.

The four types of leukemia each begin in a cell in the bone marrow. The cell undergoes a leukemic change and it multiplies into many cells. The leukemia cells grow and survive better than normal cells and, over time, they crowd out normal cells.

Normal stem cells in the marrow form three main cell-types: Red cells, platelets and white cells. There are two major types of white cells: germ-ingesting cells (neutrophils and monocytes) and lymphocytes, which are part of the body's immune system and help to fight to infection.

The rate at which leukemia progresses and how the cells replace the normal blood and marrow cells are different with each type of leukemia.

ACUTE LEUKEMIA

In acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), the original acute leukemia cell goes on to form about a trillion more leukemia cells. These cells are described as "nonfunctional" because they do not work like normal cells. They also crowd out the normal cells in the marrow; in turn, this causes a decrease in the number of new normal cells made in the marrow. This further results in low red cell counts (anemia). The lack of normal white cells impairs the body's ability to fight infections. A shortage of platelets results in bruising and easy bleeding.

CHRONIC LEUKEMIA

Chronic leukemias account for 11 percent more cases than acute leukemias.
In chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), the leukemia cell that starts the disease makes blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets) that function almost like normal cells. The number of red cells is usually less than normal, resulting in anemia. But many white cells and sometimes many platelets are still made. Even though the white cells are nearly normal in how they work, their counts are high and continue to rise. This can cause serious problems if the patient does not get treatment. If untreated, the white cell count can rise so high that blood flow slows down and anemia becomes severe.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the leukemia cell that starts the disease makes too many lymphocytes that do not function. These cells replace normal cells in the marrow and lymph nodes. They interfere with the work of normal lymphocytes, which weakens the patient's immune response. The high number of leukemia cells in the marrow may crowd out normal blood-forming cells and lead to a low red cell count (anemia). A very high number of leukemia cells building up in the marrow also can lead to low neutrophil and platelet counts.

Unlike the other three types of leukemia, some patients with CLL may have disease that does not progress for a long time. Some people with CLL have such slight changes that they remain in good health and do not need treatment for long periods of time. Most patients require treatment at the time of diagnosis or soon after.

TREATMENT

The aim of treatment is to bring about a complete remission. Complete remission means that there is no evidence of the disease and the person returns to good health with normal blood and marrow cells. Relapse indicates a return of the cancer cells and return of other signs and symptoms of the disease. For acute leukemia, a complete remission (no evidence of disease in the blood or marrow) that lasts five years after diagnosis often indicates long-term survival. Treatment centers report increasing numbers of patients with leukemia who are in complete remission at least five years after the diagnosis of their disease.

BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

Bone marrow transplant is a life-saving treatment for people with leukemia, lymphoma and many other diseases. First, patients undergo chemotherapy and sometimes radiation to destroy their diseased marrow. Then a donor's healthy blood-forming cells are given directly into the patient's bloodstream, where they can begin to function and multiply.

For a patient's body to accept these healthy cells, the patient needs a donor who is a close match. Seventy percent of patients do not have a donor in their family and depend on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry to find an unrelated bone marrow donor or umbilical cord blood.

**Facts and statistics from Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma Facts.