Epidemiology

• in adults aged 15+ years in England and Wales in 1992 - there were 4,930 new cases of leukaemia; the number per annum per 2000 population was 0.19 (1)
  
  
• leukaemia (all subtypes combined) is the 11th most common cancer in the UK (2011), accounting for 3% of all new cases
  • in males, it is the 9th most common cancer (3% of the male total), whilst it is the 11th (2%) in females
  • in 2011, there were 8,616 new cases of leukaemia in the UK: 5,014 (58%) in men and 3,602 (42%) in women, giving a male:female ratio of around 14:10
    • the crude incidence rate shows that there are 16 new leukaemia cases for every 100,000 males in the UK, and 11 for every 100,000 females
    • leukaemia (all subtypes combined) incidence rates have increased overall in Great Britain since the mid-1970s, though much of the rise occurred before the late 1990s
      
      
• leukaemia (all subtypes combined) is the 11th most common cause of cancer death in the UK (2011), accounting for 3% of all deaths from cancer (2)
  • n 2011, there were 4,603 deaths from leukaemia in the UK: 2,609 (57%) in men and 1,994 (43%) in women, giving a male:female ratio of around 13:10
    • the crude mortality rate shows that there are more than 8 leukaemia deaths for every 100,000 males in the UK, and around 6 for every 100,000 females
      
      
• all ages can be affected but 75% occur in patients over the age of 60 years
  
  
• risk factors for leukaemia include exposure to radiation and previous chemotherapy/radiotherapy
  
  
• most cases of leukaemia are diagnosed following a full blood count undertaken because of clinical features of bone marrow failure (pallor, fatigue, bleeding, bruising, infections etc)
  
  
• some leukaemias may present with hepatosplenomegaly and/ or lymphadenopathy

In 2010, in the UK, the lifetime risk of developing leukaemia (all subtypes combined) is 1 in 66 for men and 1 in 96 for women.

Reference:

• (1) Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (April 2000). NHS Executive.
• (2) Cancer Research UK. Leukaemia statistics (accessed 29/6/14)