Blood cancer facts and statistics

New cases

Approximately every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma.
An estimated combined total of 192,070 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2025.
New cases of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are expected to account for 9.4 percent of the estimated 2,041,910 new cancer cases that will be diagnosed in the US in 2025.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 1,759,461 people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

Survival

Relative survival compares the survival rate of a person diagnosed with a disease to that of a person without the disease. The most recent survival data available may not fully represent the outcomes of all current therapies and therefore may underestimate survival to a small degree.

Deaths

Approximately every nine minutes, someone in the U.S. dies from blood cancer.* This statistic represents approximately 154 people each day, or more than six people every hour.
Leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma were expected to cause the deaths of an estimated 56,110 people in the U.S. in 2025.
These diseases were expected to account for 9.1 percent of the deaths from cancer in 2025, based on the estimated total of 618,120 cancer deaths.

*Data specified for “blood cancer” include leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, and do not include myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) due to lack of available data.

View facts and statistics about each type of blood cancer. Open each section to learn more:

New cases

In 2025, 66,890 people were expected to be diagnosed with leukemia.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 475,323 people are living with or in remission from leukemia in the U.S.

Survival

The 5-year relative survival rate for leukemia has more than doubled, from 34 percent for 1975 to 1977 to 70 percent for 2014 to 2020. From 2014 to 2020, the five-year relative survival rates overall were:

ALL: 76.0 percent overall, 94.0 percent for children and adolescents younger than 15 years, and 93.8 percent for children younger than 5 years
AML: 34.0 percent overall and 69.3 percent for children and adolescents younger than 15 years
CLL: 91.0 percent overall
CML: 71.0 percent overall*

*The survival rate of CML in clinical trials is higher than the survival rate reported here, based on SEER data. It is speculated that close clinical monitoring and better medication adherence in clinical trials are associated with a lower risk of disease progression and higher rates of survival.

Deaths

Approximately 23,540 deaths (13,500 males and 10,040 females) in the U.S. were expected to be attributed to leukemia in 2025.
From 2018 to 2022, leukemia was the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in males and the seventh most common cause of cancer deaths in females in the U.S.

New cases

About 89,070 people in the U.S. were expected to be diagnosed with lymphoma in 2025 (8,720 cases of HL and 80,350 cases of NHL).

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. There are an estimated 941,016 people living with, or in remission from, lymphoma* in the U.S.:

There are 171,673 people living with or in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma
There are 772,976 people living with or in remission from non-Hodgkin lymphoma

*The unique number of people living with or in remission from lymphoma may not equal the sum of those living with or in remission from both HL and NHL due to people diagnosed with both Hodgkin lymphoma and NHL

Survival

The five-year relative survival rate for people with Hodgkin lymphoma has increased more than 21 percent—from 72 percent during the period 1975 to 1977 to 92 percent during the period 2014 to 2020. The five-year relative survival rate is 96.1 percent for all people with Hodgkin lymphoma who were younger than 50 at diagnosis.
Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer.
The five-year relative survival rate for people with NHL has risen from 46 percent from 1975 to 1977 to 77 percent from 2014 to 2020. The five-year relative survival rate is 86.0 percent for all people with NHL who were younger than 50 years at diagnosis.

Deaths

In 2025, an estimated 20,540 individuals in the U.S. were expected to die from lymphoma (1,150 deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma, and 19,390 deaths from NHL).

New cases

An estimated 36,110 new cases of myeloma (20,030 males and 16,080 females) were expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2025.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 176,980 people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from myeloma.

Survival

Five-year relative survival increased from 24 percent from 1975 to 1977 to 63 percent from 2014 to 2020.
The three-year survival rate as of January 1, 2021, was 72.3 percent for all races and ethnicities.
The five-year survival rate is 78.7 percent for people with myeloma who were younger than 50 at diagnosis.

Deaths

Approximately 12,030 deaths from myeloma were expected in 2025.

New cases

For the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, there were 77,660 new cases of MDS throughout the U.S., averaging 15,532 cases per year.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 60,253 people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from MDS.

Survival

For the period from 2014-2020, the 5-year relative survival rate for MDS was 37.7 percent.

Deaths

The SEER report reflects mortality data from the National Cancer for Health Statistics (NCHS) database, in which MDS is not included as a cause of death. Therefore, mortality statistics were not reported in 2025 at the time of this publication.

New cases

For the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, there were 72,942 new cases of MPNs throughout the U.S., averaging 14,588 cases per year.

Prevalence

Prevalence is the estimated number of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. An estimated 127,013 people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from MPNs.

Survival

For the period from 2014-2020, the five-year relative survival rate for MPNs was 89.6 percent.

Deaths

The SEER report reflects mortality data from the National Cancer for Health Statistics (NCHS) database, in which MDS is not included as a cause of death. Therefore, mortality statistics were not reported in 2025 at the time of this publication.

Young adult blood cancers

An estimated 157,702 young adults (ages 20-39 years*) in the U.S. are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs^).

Approximately 9.0 percent of all people living with blood cancers in the U.S. are ages 20-39 years.
From 2017-2021, 6 percent of all blood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS and MPNs) were diagnosed in young adults ages 20-39 years.
Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer diagnosed in young adults ages 20-39 years and accounts for 57.0 percent of all blood cancer cases in this age-group.
In young adults ages 20-39 years, lymphoma (Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma combined) is the fourth most frequently occurring type of cancer in all races and ethnicities.
- NHL is eighth most frequently occurring
- Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is tenth most frequently occurring
In young adults ages 20-39 years, leukemia is the ninth most frequently occurring type of cancer in all races and ethnicities.
From 2017 to 2021, the most recent five years for which data are available, leukemia and lymphoma accounted for 13.4 percent of all cancer types in adolescents and young adults ages 20- 39 years.
- Lymphoma accounted for 9.3 percent of all cancer cases in young adults ages 20-39 years (NHL, 5.0 percent; Hodgkin lymphoma, 4.3 percent).
- Leukemia accounted for 4.1 percent of all cancer cases in young adults ages 20-39 years.
Leukemia is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among young adults ages 20-39 years. This accounts for 8.7 percent of all cancer-related deaths among this age-group.
NHL is the tenth leading cause of cancer deaths among young adults ages 20-39 years. This accounts for 3.8 percent of all cancer-related deaths among this age-group.

^Myeloma, MDS and MPNs are not commonly diagnosed in adolescents and young adults ages 15-39 years.

Childhood and adolescent blood cancers

An estimated 55,103 children and adolescents younger than 20 years in the U.S. are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, or MPNs.
Leukemia is the most common cancer diagnosed in children and adolescents younger than 20 years and accounts for 25.7 percent of all cancer cases in this age group.
From 2017 to 2021, the most recent five years for which data are available, leukemia and lymphoma accounted for 38.6 percent of all cancer types in children and adolescents younger than 20 years.
The most common types of cancer in children and adolescents younger than 20 years are leukemia (25.7 percent), cancers of the brain and other nervous tissue (16.1 percent), NHL (6.7 percent), Hodgkin lymphoma (6.3 percent), and thyroid cancer (5.8 percent).
The age-adjusted incidence rate of leukemia and lymphoma in children and adolescents younger than 20 years is 7.3 per 100,000 (leukemia, 4.8; and lymphoma, 2.5).
Leukemia is the second leading cause of cancer deaths (after cancers of the brain and other nervous tissue) among children and adolescents younger than 20 years. This accounts for 24.2 percent of all cancer-related deaths among this age group.
From 2017 to 2021, 4.2 percent of all leukemia and lymphoma cases were diagnosed in children and adolescents younger than 20 years.
From 2017 to 2021, 3.0 percent of all blood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, MDS, and MPNs*) were diagnosed in children and adolescents younger than 20 years.

* Myeloma, MDS and MPNs are not commonly diagnosed in children or adolescents younger than 20 years old.

^ 29-year limited-duration prevalence.
* 20-year limited-duration prevalence. Shorter duration prevalence required due to fewer years
of reportability for these cancers.
– Estimates based on less than 16 cases are suppressed and not shown.

The reporting of adolescent and young adult cancer in this publication includes ages 15 through 39 years, in keeping with other major reporting sources. This grouping intentionally overlaps with the reporting of childhood cancers for ages under 20 years, accounting for a transitional phase between childhood and adult cancer

Myeloma, MDS and MPNs are not commonly diagnosed in adolescents and young adults ages 15-39 years

Source: Facts 2024-2025. Facts 2024-2025 provides updates from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2025 (published online in 2025, https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics. html) for estimated numbers of new blood cancer cases and estimated numbers of deaths due to blood cancers.

The incidence rates, prevalence, and mortality data in Facts 2024-2025 reflect the statistics from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics [Internet]. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute. [Cited 2024 April]. Available at https://seer.cancer.gov/statistics-network/explorer.