Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) mortality statistics

Deaths

Deaths from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, 2017-2019, UK.

Proportion of all deaths

Percentage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia contributes to total cancer deaths, 2017-2019, UK

Age

Peak mortality rate for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, 2017-2019, UK

Trend over time

Change in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia mortality rates since the early 1970s, UK

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia accounts for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in the UK (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia accounts for less than 1% of all female cancer deaths. In males in the UK, it accounts for less than 1% of all male cancer deaths).

41% of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia deaths in the UK are in females, and 59% are in males (2017-2019).

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) in the UK are significantly lower in females than in males (2017-2019).

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) for persons are similar to the UK average in all the UK constituent countries.

For acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, mortality and incidence rates do not vary between the UK constituent nations.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (C91.0), Annual Average Number of Deaths, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Deaths 89 7 5 3 104
Crude Rate 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
AS Rate 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3
AS Rate - 95% LCL 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.3
AS Rate - 95% UCL 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.3
Male Deaths 125 13 8 4 149
Crude Rate 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5
AS Rate 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5
AS Rate - 95% LCL 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.4
AS Rate - 95% UCL 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5
Persons Deaths 214 20 13 6 253
Crude Rate 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4
AS Rate 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
AS Rate - 95% LCL 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4
AS Rate - 95% UCL 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4
95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, C91.0.

Last reviewed:

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia mortality is related to age, with the highest mortality rates being in older people. In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year a fifth of deaths (20%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] This is a much lower proportion of deaths in older age groups compared with most cancers.

Age-specific mortality rates remain steady from birth and rise steeply from around age 50-54 and levelling off or droppping after around age 75-79. The highest rates are in the 70 to 74 age group for females and the 90+ age group for males. Mortality rates are similar between females and males in most age groups.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (C91.0), Average Number of Deaths per Year and Age-Specific Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C91.0.

Last reviewed:

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item rates for females and males combined decreased by 50% in the UK between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The decrease was of a similar size in females and males.

For females, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 48% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019. For males, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 52% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia AS mortality rates for females and males combined remained stable. In females AS mortality rates remained stable, and in males rates remained stable.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (C91.0), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 1971-2019

For most cancer types, mortality trends largely reflect incidence and survival trends. For example, rising mortality may reflect rising incidence and stable survival, while falling mortality may reflect rising incidence and rising survival.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia mortality rates have varied between age groups in females and males combined in the UK since the early 1970s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have decreased by 77% (though the absolute change is very small as rates are overall low in this age group), in 25-49s have remained stable, in 50-59s have remained stable, in 60-69s have remained stable, in 70-79s have decreased by 40% and in 80+s have decreased by 49%.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (C91.0), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, By Age, UK, 1971-2019

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 1971-2019, C91.0.

Cancers in children and young people (aged 0-24) are best classified using a different system to cancers in adults, so the figures presented here may not correspond with those elsewhere.

Last reviewed:

  • Mortality rates for lymphomas and leukaemias in the UK in females are 10% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and rates in males are 6% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least.
  • Around 740 deaths from lymphomas and leukaemias each year in the UK are linked with deprivation (around 350 in females, and around 390 in males).

Further mortality by deprivation statistics and charts can be found on the Cancer Research UK's Cancer Statistics Data Hub.

Last reviewed:

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