|
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for the
United States:
- 8,510 new cases: 3,870 in females and 4,640 in males during
2009. These numbers have not changed much over the past few years.
- 1,290 people (490 females, 800 males) will die of Hodgkin
disease during 2009.
Hodgkin disease can occur in both children and adults. It is
most common in early adulthood (ages 15 to 40, especially in a person's
20s), where it is mostly of the nodular sclerosis subtype, and in late
adulthood (after age 55), where the mixed cellularity subtype is more
common. Hodgkin disease is rare before 5 years of age. About 10% to 15%
of cases are diagnosed in children and teenagers.
Because of advances in treatment, survival rates have improved
considerably since the early 1970s. The 1-year relative survival rate
for all patients diagnosed with Hodgkin disease is about 92%; the
5-year and 10-year rates are about 85% and 81%, respectively.
The survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who
live at least
that long after their cancer is diagnosed. (For example, the 5-year
survival rate includes all people who live at least 5 years after being
diagnosed.) Doctors use survival rates as a standard way of discussing
prognosis (outlook). Of course, many people live much longer than these
cutoffs. Relative
survival rates are adjusted in ways that exclude the impact of diseases
other than cancer on survival; that is, people with Hodgkin disease who
die of other causes are not counted.
Certain factors such as the stage of the disease and a
patient's age affect these rates. People who are younger and have less
advanced disease tend to have better outcomes.
Of course, current 5-year survival rates are based on people
with Hodgkin disease who were diagnosed and initially treated more than
5 years ago. Advances in treatment may produce a more favorable outlook
for recently diagnosed patients. For a discussion on 5-year survival by
stage of disease, see the section, "How
is Hodgkin disease staged?"
Last Medical Review: 07/21/2009
Last Revised: 07/21/2009
|
