Leukaemia

What is leukaemia?

• Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood-forming cells¹
• It starts in blood-forming tissue, usually the bone marrow²
• It is usually a cancer of the white blood cells, but some types of leukaemia start in other types of blood cells¹

Types of leukaemia

• The four main types of leukaemia are:³
  • Acute myeloid leukaemia
  • Chronic myeloid leukaemia
  • Acute lymphocytic leukaemia
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
• These are defined according to where the cancer develops and how quickly it progresses³
• Acute leukaemia is fast growing and chronic leukaemia is slow growing¹
• Chronic myeloid leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are the most common types of slow-growing leukaemia in adults,⁴ and acute myeloid leukaemia is the most common type of fast-growing leukaemia in adults⁵

Who gets leukaemia?

• Acute myeloid leukaemia, chronic myeloid leukaemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are all more common in males⁶
• The risk of developing acute myeloid leukaemia, chronic myeloid leukaemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia increases with age⁶
• Acute lymphocytic leukaemia is the most common type of leukaemia in children aged under 15 years, with the highest incidence in children aged 2–4 years⁷
• Leukaemia is the 11th most common cancer worldwide⁸
• 352,000 new cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2012⁸

Screening, detection, and diagnosis

• Diagnosis for all 4 main types of leukaemia is usually made using:
  • Blood tests⁹
  • Bone marrow biopsy⁹
  • Leukaemia is often detected coincidentally during other routine laboratory tests⁹

Local support groups

Contacting a support group may help you during diagnosis and treatment and afterwards

Infographics

Click here for information on the incidence of leukaemia in Europe¹²