Key Statistics for Childhood Leukemia

Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens. Overall, however, childhood leukemia is a rare disease.

Acute leukemias

About 3 in 4 leukemias among children and teens are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Most of the remaining cases are acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

• ALL is most common in early childhood, peaking between ages 2 and 5 years.
• ALL is slightly more common among Hispanic and White children than among African American and Asian American children, and it is more common in boys than in girls.
• AML is much more common in adults than children. When it occurs in childhood, it is more likely in the first year of life and the teenage years.
• AML occurs about equally among boys and girls of all races.

Chronic leukemias

Chronic leukemias are rare in children. Most of these are chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which tends to occur more in teens than in younger children.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML)

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is rare. It usually occurs in younger children, with an average age of about 2 years. It is more common in boys than in girls.

Visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center for more key statistics.

For statistics related to survival, see Survival Rates for Childhood Leukemias.