What are the key statistics about chronic myeloid leukemia?

The American Cancer Society's estimates for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the United States for 2013 are:

• About 5,920 new cases will be diagnosed with CML (3,420 in men and 2,500 in women).
• About 610 people will die of CML (340 men and 270 women).

CML accounts for a little over 10% of all new cases of leukemia. The average person's lifetime risk of getting CML is about 1 in 625. This disease is slightly more common in men than in women. It is also more common in whites than in African-Americans.

The average age at diagnosis of CML is around 65 years. Over half of cases are diagnosed in people 65 and older. This type of leukemia mainly affects adults, and is only rarely seen in children.

Dramatic progress has been made in treatment over the past several years, so most people with CML are now surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis. But because the highly effective drugs are still fairly new, the average survival of people now being diagnosed with CML is not known.