Improved survival among children with acute leukemia in the United States.

Statistically significant increases in 3- and 5-year survival rates were observed for white children under 15 years of age diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) from 1973-1976 to 1977-1980 in 9 geographic areas of the United States. Survival for the cohort diagnosed in 1977-1980 was 78% at 3 years, 68% at 5 years, and 42% at 10 years from diagnosis. For the cohort diagnosed in 1981-1984, however, slight but not significant decreases in survival rates were seen. Improvements in 3- and 5-year survival for children with acute granulocytic leukemia (AGL) were found between the cohort diagnosed in 1973-1976 as compared to 1977-1980, but these rates stabilized as well in the 1980s. While the age-adjusted incidence rate for all childhood leukemias fluctuated slightly between 1973 and 1985, age-adjusted mortality continued to decline, dropping from 2.5 per 100,000 white population under 15 years of age in 1973 to 1.4 per 100,000 in 1985, an average annual decrease of approximately 4%.