CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA – FACTS & STATISTICS

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)

Charlotte has Common Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The most common type of leukaemia to affect children is acute lymphoblastic (lymphoid) leukaemia (ALL) (less common are Acute Myeloid, & Chronic Myeloid). This accounts for more than 80 per cent of all cases of childhood leukaemia. ALL is the only form of leukaemia – and one of the few forms of cancer – that is more common in children than in adults. Common ALL is the most common type of childhood ALL, accounting for up to 70 per cent of cases of childhood ALL.  Around 370 new cases of childhood ALL are diagnosed every year in Great Britain.
Incidence varies with age. Risk increases rapidly after birth, peaks around the third or fourth year of life and then declines. More than half of all children diagnosed with ALL are under the age of five years.

Survival
Until the 1960s, childhood leukaemia was incurable. Today, the outlook for young patients diagnosed with ALL is good - the survival rate is approaching 90 per cent.
Of the different types of ALL, children with so-called common ALL have the best prognosis. Within this group, girls fare better than boys.
Survival is highest in children diagnosed between one and four years of age.

Cause?

There is no single factor known to cause acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). In most cases it is probably due to a combination of different factors.

However, there are a number of things that are known to increase the chances of developing ALL. These are:
Exposure to high levels of radiation
Exposure to some chemicals
Exposure to radiation and dangerous chemicals is extremely rare in the UK today.
Despite early, controversial theories, electro-magnetic radiation, such as that given off by power cables, has not been shown to cause childhood ALL.
A recent study funded by Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research confirmed, for the first time, the existence of cancer stem cells in childhood ALL. The study compared the blood cells of identical twins, one of whom was being treated for leukaemia, the other who is healthy. Our scientists found the same genetically abnormal pre-leukaemic stem cells in their blood. This confirmed theories that childhood ALL develops in the womb.
Research is now underway to identify why and how these pre-leukaemic stem cells are converted into full-blown leukaemia in some children and not others. There is evidence to suggest that the ‘second trigger’ is related to timing and unusual response to infection.
 
Source: Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research

BLOOD CANCERS

Number of people diagnosed in the UK
Disease	Children aged 0-14	Young adults aged 15-24	Adults 25+	All ages
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)	370	90	290	750
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)	70	90	2090	2250
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)	-	20	530	550
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)	-	-	3300	3300
Other leukaemias	20	10	670	700
Leukaemia (total)	460	210	6880	7600
Hodgkin lymphoma	70	250	1330	1650
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	100	80	8820	9000
Other lymphoproliferative disorders			1050	1050
Lymphoma (total)	170	330	11200	11700
Myeloma (total)			3750	3750
Other blood cancers	10	35	-	45
Myelodysplastic syndromes	-	-	2000	2000
Myeloproliferative neoplasms	-	-	3300	3300
Other blood cancers (total)	10	35	5300	5345
All blood cancers (total)	640	575	27130	28345

Source: Yorkshire and Humberside Haematology Research Network