What Are the Key Statistics About Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia?

The American Cancer Society's estimates for leukemia in the United States for 2009 are:

• about 44,790 new cases of leukemia (all kinds) and 21,870 deaths from leukemia (all kinds)

• about 5,760 new cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), of which about 1 out of 3 will be in adults

• about 1,400 deaths from ALL, about 3 out of 4 which will be in adults

The risk for developing ALL is highest in children between 2 and 4 years of age. The risk then declines slowly until the mid-20s, and begins to rise again slowly after age 50.

The average person's lifetime risk of getting ALL is about 1/10 of 1% (about 1 in 1,000). The risk is slightly higher in men than in women, and higher in whites than in African Americans.