Leukemia makes up approximately one third of all new blood cancer cases in the U.S. and Europe. Leukemia is also the most common cancer in general in children and teens, accounting for almost one out of three cancers.

Leukemia is a cancer of the early blood-forming cells and it usually begins in the bone marrow. This blood cancer is divided into several groups based on whether the leukemia is fast growing (acute leukemias) or slower growing (chronic leukemias), and whether it starts in myeloid cells (myeloid or myelogenous leukemias) or lymphoid cells (lymphoblastic or lymphocytic leukemias). 

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive, rapidly-progressing disease in which the immature blood cells do not develop properly and grow uncontrollably. The AML cells crowd out and interfere with the number and function of normal blood cells. The need for new treatments for AML remains urgent, which is why The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has invested approximately one quarter of its research dollars annually in the disease, more than $142 million over the past decade.

Despite the fact that AML is a rare cancer, occurring in about 20,000 new patients in the US per year, it represents approximately 10% of all new cases of blood cancer per year and 30% of all leukemias. Moreover, deaths due to AML is about 10,000 cases per year in the US, or 20% of all blood cancers.

Information taken directly from: 

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). (2023, May 5). Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

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