The latest figures show that the 5-year survival rate for all subtypes of leukemia is 65.7% . A 5-year survival rate looks at how many people are still alive 5 years after their diagnosis. Leukemia is most common in older adults, with incidence rates rising sharply from around 55 years.
In the United States, overall, 5-year survival among people diagnosed with leukemia is 65%. However, these statistics vary greatly according to the specific subtype of disease: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) 5-year survival rate is 88%. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) 5-year survival rate is 71.3%.
People in stages 0 to II may live for 5 to 20 years without treatment. CLL has a very high incidence rate in people older than 60 years. CLL affects men more than women. If the disease has affected the B cells, the person's life expectancy can range from 10 to 20 years.
Generally for all people with ALL:
more than 65 out of 100 people (more than 65%) will survive their leukaemia for 5 years or more after being diagnosed.
Chronic leukemia may go undetected
Unlike acute leukemia, chronic leukemia develops slowly. It may take months or even several years before the disease begins to cause symptoms that alert the patient that something is wrong.
What are the signs and symptoms of end stage AML? As a person approaches the later stages of AML, they may experience pain, fatigue, appetite loss, difficulty focusing and speaking, muscle loss, weakness, low blood pressure, and breathing difficulty, among other symptoms.
6. Is leukemia curable if caught early? If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) often develops very slowly. You might need little or no treatment. Although it is not usually curable, the disease can be under control for many years.
The median age of a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, most cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) occur in people under 20 years old. The median age of an ALL patient at diagnosis is 15.
Stage 1 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 2 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she may also have enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 3 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic.
The causes of death were investigated in 315 adults with acute leukemia during a 7-year period (1966-1972). Infection alone or in combination was the most common cause (75%), followed by hemorrhage (24%) and organ failure (9%). Most of the infections were either systemic or pulmonary.
The higher the number, the more advanced the cancer is. This system then groups the CLL into low (stage 0), intermediate (stages I and II), and high (stages III and IV) risk groups.
Palliative (pronounced “pal-lee-uh-tiv”) care is specialized medical care for people facing serious illness. The palliative care team relieves the symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness like leukemia or lymphoma. The goal is to improve quality of life for both you and your family.
Recovery from leukemia is not always possible. If the cancer cannot be cured or controlled, the disease may be called advanced or terminal. This diagnosis is stressful because the disease is not curable, and for many people, advanced ALL is difficult to discuss.
Treatment for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) differs from treatment for patients with other AML subtypes. Because of advances in diagnosis and treatment of this disease, APL is now considered the most curable form of adult leukemia.
Leukemia is a cancer of the early blood-forming cells. Most often, leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, but some leukemias start in other blood cell types.
There are no alternative treatment options available that can treat, cure, or manage leukemia or any other type of cancer. However, there are some methods that may help ease certain symptoms of leukemia or help reduce the side effects of treatment.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
Acute myelogenous leukemia is the most common kind of aggressive leukemia in adults. It can also affect children. This type of leukemia starts in the myeloid cells of the bone marrow and can spread quickly into the blood.
Increasingly, researchers are finding that leukemia may run in a family due to inherited gene mutations. AML occurs more often in people with the following inherited disorders: Down syndrome. Ataxia telangiectasia.
Some people with leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes have bone or joint pain. This bone pain is most often felt in the long bones of the arms and legs, in the ribs and in the breastbone. Joint pain and swelling of the large joints, like the hips and shoulders, sometimes starts several weeks after bone pain begins.
Leukaemias are grouped in two ways: the type of white blood cell affected - lymphoid or myeloid; and how quickly the disease develops and gets worse. Acute leukaemia appears suddenly and grows quickly while chronic leukaemia appears gradually and develops slowly over months to years.
The treatment usually consists of four cycles of intensive chemotherapy that includes high doses of cytarabine and one or more other drugs.
Chemo treatment for ALL is typically divided into 3 phases: Induction, which is short and intensive, usually lasts about a month. Consolidation (intensification), which is also intensive, typically lasts for a few months. Maintenance (post-consolidation), which is less intensive, typically lasts for about 2 years.