Epidemiology of acute leukemia in Germany

We present an overview of the epidemiology of acute leukemia in Germany, based on the data from eight German population-based cancer registries and the German childhood cancer registry. Of the more than 1000 annual cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Germany, about 45% of the children are below the age of 15 years, while 4100 annual cases of acutemyeloid leukemia (AML) mostly occur in higher age groups, with a median age of 72 years at onset. During the last decade, the incidence rates have remained stable. The 5-year survival is high for children (92% for ALL and 74% for AML) but survival decreases significantly with increasing age at onset. Age-standardized incidence rates are comparable to those reported for Europe, the USA, and Australia, while survival in Germany seems to be relatively high within Europe and also higher compared to the USA.