Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) incidence statistics

Acute myeloid leukaemia is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2015).[1-4]

In males in the UK, acute myeloid leukaemia is not among the 20 most common cancers (1% of all new male cancer cases). In females in the UK it is not among the 20 most common cancers (less than 1% of all new female cancer cases).

56% of acute myeloid leukaemia cases in the UK are in males, and 44% are in females.

Acute myeloid leukaemia incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates ) for persons are significantly lower than the UK average in Scotland, and similar to the UK average in all other UK constituent countries.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (C92.0, C92.4, C92.5, C92.6, C92.8, C93.0, C94.0, C94.2), Number of New Cases, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2015

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits   around the AS Rate

For acute myeloid leukaemia, there are few established risk factors therefore differences between countries largely reflect differences in diagnosis and data recording.

Acute myeloid leukaemia incidence is strongly related to age, with the highest incidence rates being in older people. In the UK in 2013-2015, on average each year around 4 in 10 (41%) of new cases were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] 

Age-specific incidence rates rise steadily from around age 50-54 and more steeply from around age 60-64. The highest rates are in the 85 to 89 age group for males and females.

Incidence rates are significantly higher in males than females in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 80 to 84, when the age-specific incidence rate is 1.9 times higher in males than females.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (C92.0, C92.4, C92.5, C92.6, C92.8, C93.0, C94.0, C94.2), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2013-2015

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits  around the AS Rate

For acute myeloid leukaemia, like most cancer types, incidence increases with age. This largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. A drop or plateau in incidence in the oldest age groups often indicates reduced diagnostic activity perhaps due to general ill health.

Acute myeloid leukaemia European age-standardised (AS) incidence rates for males and females combined increased by 30% in the UK between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015.[1-4] The increase was of a similar size in males and females.

For males, acute myeloid leukaemia AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 33% between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015. For females, acute myeloid leukaemia AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 22% between 1993-1995 and 2013-2015.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2003-2005 and 2013-2015), acute myeloid leukaemia AS incidence rates for males and females combined increased by 8%. In males AS incidence rates increased by 10%, and in females rates remained stable.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (C92.0, C92.4, C92.5, C92.6, C92.8, C93.0, C94.0, C94.2), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, UK, 1993-2015

Acute myeloid leukaemia incidence rates have varied between age groups in males and females combined in the UK since the early 1990s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have remained stable, in 25-49s have remained stable, in 50-59s have remained stable, in 60-69s have increased by 12%, in 70-79s have increased by 46%, and in 80+s have increased by 68%.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (C92.0, C92.4, C92.5, C92.6, C92.8, C93.0, C94.0, C94.2), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, By Age, UK, 1993-2015

For acute myeloid leukaemia there are few established risk factors, therefore increasing incidence in the 1980s and 1990s may largely reflect improvements in diagnosis and data recording.

There is evidence for a small association between acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) incidence and deprivation for males in England, but there is no evidence for an association for females.[1]  England-wide data for 2006-2010 show European age-standardised incidence rates are 15% higher for males living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived, but for females the rates are similar for those living in the least and most deprived areas.[1]

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (C920, C924, C925, C930, C940, C942), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2006-2010

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For males diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia the deprivation gradient has gone from having higher incidence rates in the less deprived in 1996-2000 to higher incidence rates in the more deprived in 2006-2010. The estimated deprivation gradient in acute myeloid leukaemia, between females living in the most and least deprived areas in England has not changes in the period 1996-2010.

It has been estimated that there would have been around 90 fewer cancer cases each year in England during 2006-2010 if all people experienced the same incidence rates as the least deprived.[1]

An estimated 6,100 people who had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) between 1991 and 2010 were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.[1]