Leukemias and lymphomas: time trends in the UK, 1984-93.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate recent time trends of some selected and common neoplasms of the blood and lymphatic tissues.

METHODS

A specialist population-based register of hematological and related neoplasms was set up in parts of the UK in 1984. Secular changes over the first 10 years were investigated using log-linear Poisson modeling. The results are presented in tabular and graphical form.

RESULTS

The analyses of 26,899 cases revealed a decline in incidence of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) including chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and, in males only, Hodgkin's disease (HD). No secular trends for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) were observed at any age. A marked increase in incidence in non-Hodgkin's disease (NHL) and the pre-leukemia group of myeloid dysplasias (MDS) was found.

CONCLUSIONS

The rise in MDS and decline in AML and related conditions are most likely to reflect diagnostic changes. Changes in NHL may reflect, in part, a similar phenomena, but an underlying upward trend cannot be excluded. The decline in HD is in one gender only and the significance of this remains to be investigated.