How many children get leukemia?

Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens. It accounts for almost 1 out of 3 of cancers in children. Even so, childhood leukemia is a rare disease.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) accounts for about 3 out of 4 the leukemia cases among children and teens. Most of the rest of the cases will be acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Chronic leukemia is rare in children.

ALL is most common in early childhood, peaking between 2 and 4 years of age. Cases of AML are more spread out across the childhood years, although it is slightly more common during the first 2 years of life and during the teenage years.