Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) statistics

Cases

New cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, 2013, UK

Deaths

Deaths from leukaemia, 2014, UK

 

  • There were around 820 new cases of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the UK in 2013, that’s more than 2 cases diagnosed every day.
  • ALL accounts for less than 1% of all new cases in the UK (2013).
  • In males, there were around 440 cases of ALL diagnosed in the UK in 2013.
  • In females, there were around 380 cases of ALL diagnosed in the UK in 2013.
  • More than half (54%) of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cases in the UK each year are diagnosed in children aged 0-14 (2011-2013).
  • Since the late 1970s, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia incidence rates have increased by 13% in Great Britain, though this includes an increase in females (19%) and stable rates in males.
  • Over the last decade, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia incidence rates have remained stable in the UK, for males and females separately and for both sexes combined.
  • 1 in 1,015 men and 1 in 1,340 women will be diagnosed with ALL during their lifetime.
  • Leukaemia (ALL) in England is less common in males living in the most deprived areas. There is no association for females.

See more in-depth ALL incidence statistics

  • There were around 240 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) deaths in the UK in 2014, that’s around 5 deaths every week.
  • ALL accounts for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in the UK (2014).
  • In males in the UK, there were around 120 ALL deaths in 2014.
  • In females in the UK, there were around 120 ALL deaths in 2014.
  • Almost half (47%) of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) deaths in the UK each year are in people aged 60 and over (2012-2014).
  • Mortality rates for ALL in the UK are highest in people aged 80-89 (2012-2014).
  • Since the early 1970s, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) mortality rates have decreased by more than a half (53%) in the UK. The decrease is larger in males (58%), than in females (46%).
  • Over the last decade, ALL mortality rates have decreased by a quarter (25%) in the UK. The decrease in similar in males (27%) and females (22%).
  • Leukaemia (ALL) in England is not associated with deprivation.

See more in-depth ALL mortality statistics

  • ‘Two-week wait’ standards are met by all countries, and ‘31-day wait’ is met by all but England for acute leukaemia.
  • More than 9 in 10 patients had a ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ patient experience.
  • Almost 9 in 10 patients are given the name of their Clinical Nurse Specialist.

See more in-depth ALL diagnosis and treatment statistics

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The latest incidence statistics available for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in the UK are; incidence 2013 and mortality 2014. Reliable survival data for the UK is currently not available.

The ICD code Open a glossary item for ALL is ICD-10 C91.0.

European Age-Standardised Rates were calculated using the 1976 European Standard Population (ESP) unless otherwise stated as calculated with ESP2013. ASRs calculated with ESP2013 are not comparable with ASRs calculated with ESP1976.

Lifetime risk estimates were calculated using incidence, mortality, population and all-cause mortality data for 2010-2012 due to the small number of cases.

Cancer waiting times statistics are for patients who entered the health care system within financial year 2014-15. AML is part of the group 'Acute leukaemia' for cancer waiting times data. Codes vary per country but broadly include: acute lymphoblastic, myeloid and monocytic leukaemia and some other leukaemia of specific or unspecified cell type.

Patient Experience data is for adult patients in England with a primary diagnosis of cancer, who were in active treatment between September and November 2013 and who completed a survey in 2014.

Deprivation gradient statistics were calculated using incidence data for three time periods: 1996-2000, 2001-2005 and 2006-2010 and for mortality for two time periods: 2002-2006 and 2007-2011. The 1997-2001 mortality data were only used for the all cancers combined group as this time period includes the change in coding from ICD-9 to ICD-10. The deprivation quintiles were calculated using the Income domain scores from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the following years: 2004, 2007 and 2010. Full details on the data and methodology can be found in the Cancer by Deprivation in England NCIN report.

See also

Data sources and timings - why are these the latest statistics?

Information and explanations on terminology used for statistics

Our calculations explained

Information for patients

Citation

You are welcome to reuse this Cancer Research UK statistics content for your own work.

Credit us as authors by referencing Cancer Research UK as the primary source. Suggested styles are:

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the essential work of the cancer registries in the United Kingdom and Ireland Association of Cancer Registries, without which there would be no data.

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