The cancer mortality rate has declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States, according to a report by the American Cancer Society.1 However, the incidence of leukemia and other malignancies is increasing.
The report estimates that there will be 2,041,910 new cancer diagnoses and 618,120 cancer deaths in the United States in 2025.1 This includes 66,890 new leukemia cases and 23,540 leukemia deaths, as well as 89,070 new lymphoma cases and 20,540 lymphoma deaths.2
“Incidence rates of leukemia are rising for both forms of acute leukemia in adults based on SEER data going back as far as 1975. Many believe these are changes due to children and young adults living longer over that period, with death from other causes going down,” Keith Pratz, MD, director of the Leukemia Program at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, told Blood Cancers Today. “There may be issues with classification and reporting over the period, which may lead to more complete data in the recent era for leukemia diagnosis.”
Dr. Pratz also explained that more people are being exposed to potential leukemogenic causes at younger ages, including diagnostic and therapeutic radiation and environmental toxins.
“There is a small but meaningful increase in younger adults with leukemia, and we need improved reporting of risks found in these young adults to improve our understanding of this issue,” he added.
Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Children and Adolescents
The incidence of cancer in children (14 years of age and younger) has declined by 0.8% per year after decades of increase but has continued to rise by 0.7% per year among adolescents (15-19 years of age) due to increasing rates of lymphoid leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.2 Leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, accounts for 28% of cases.2
“It’s important to note that this rise in incidence is relatively small,” E. Anders Kolb, MD, president and CEO of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, told Blood Cancers Today. “Because we have gotten better at diagnosing these diseases, incidence rates are ultimately going to rise. These diseases have been harder to diagnose, and our ability to identify these blood cancers 20 years ago is much different than our ability now.”
Although the cause of the increasing incidence is unknown, Dr. Kolb explained, lymphomas are more common in children and young adults with an autoimmune disease treated with immunosuppressive agents, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
“This rise in cases highlights the fact that we don’t fully understand the root causes of leukemia and lymphoma,” Dr. Kolb added. “These are unique diseases in young adults, and we need to better understand the causes as well as the long-term effects of these blood cancers.”
Cancer mortality has declined by 70% in children and by 63% in adolescents since 1970, attributed to the improved treatment for leukemia.1 However, survival is higher among children with lymphoid leukemia than among adolescents (92% vs 76%), attributed to differences in tumor biology, clinical trial enrollment, treatment protocols, and treatment tolerance and adherence. 2
“Survival rates for lung cancer and colon cancer over the years have improved in large part because of screening and prevention. We haven’t been as successful in finding that yet for leukemia and lymphoma,” said Dr. Kolb. “Today, in the era of molecular medicine, we are developing tools that are still in the research phases that can help predict and refine the risk for getting these blood cancers.”
References
- ACS Annual Report: cancer mortality continues to drop despite rising incidence in women; rates of new diagnoses under 65 higher in women than men. PR Newswire. January 16, 2025. Accessed January 22, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acs-annual-report-cancer-mortality-continues-to-drop-despite-rising-incidence-in-women-rates-of-new-diagnoses-under-65-higher-in-women-than-men-853615708.html
- Siegel RL, Kratzer TB, Giaquinto AN, Sung H, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2025. CA Cancer J Clin. 2025;75(1):10-45. doi:10.3322/caac.21871
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