Survival statistics for chronic myeloid leukemia

Last medical review:

Survival statistics for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are very general estimates and must be interpreted very carefully. Because these statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they cannot be used to predict a particular person’s chances of survival.

There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain the statistics for CML and what they mean to you.

Since the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to treat CML, most people with this disease reach the average life expectancy.

Net survival

Net survival represents the probability (chance) of surviving cancer in the absence of other causes of death. It is used to give an estimate of the percentage of people who will survive cancer.

In Canada, the 5-year net survival for CML is between 57% and 63%. This means that between 57% and 63% of people diagnosed with CML will survive for at least 5 years.

The current net survival statistics may not reflect the improvement in survival for CML since TKIs became the standard treatment. Some studies show that 5-year net survival may be closer to 90% when people take TKIs correctly.

Relative survival

Relative survival compares the survival for a group of people with cancer to the survival expected for a group of people in the general population who share the same characteristics as the people with cancer (such as age, sex and where they live).

The 5-year relative survival for CML is 90%. This means that, on average, people with CML are 90% as likely to survive 5 or more years after diagnosis as people of the same age and sex in the general population.

Questions about survival

If you have CML, talk to your healthcare team about your prognosis. Prognosis depends on many factors, including:

  • the phase of CML
  • response to treatment
  • your overall health
  • taking medicines correctly
Your healthcare team is familiar with these factors and can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.

Expert review and references

  • Canadian Cancer Society | Société canadienne du cancer
  • Jeffrey H Lipton, PhD, MD, FRCPC
  • Aijaz J, Junaid N, Naveed MA, Maab R. Risk stratification of chronic myeloid leukemia according to different prognostic scores. Cureus. 2020: 12(3): e7342.
  • Druker BJ, Guilhot F, O'Brien SG, Cathmann I, Kantarjian H, Gattermann N, et al. Five-year follow-up of patients receiving imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006: 355(23): 2408-2417.
  • Ellison LF. Progress in net cancer survival in Canada over 20 years. Health Reports. Statistics Canada; 2018: ISSN: 1209-1367 Catalogue no. 82-003-X.
  • Gambacorti-Passerini C & le Coutre P. Chronic myeloid leukemia. DeVita VT Jr., Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, eds. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; 2019: Kindle version, ch 104, https://read.amazon.ca/?asin=B0777JYQQC&language=en-CA.
  • Hehlmann R. The new ELN recommendations for treating CML. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020: 9(11):3671.
  • Hasford J, Baccarani M, Hoffmann V, Guilhot J, Saussele S, et al. Predicting complete cytogenetic response and subsequent progression-free survival in 2060 patients with CML on imatinib treatment: the EUTOS score. Blood. 2011: 118(3): 686-692.
  • Pfirmann M, Clark RE, Prejzner W, Lauseker M, Baccarani M, et al. The EUTOS long-term survival (ELTS) score is superior to the Sokal score for predicting survival in chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2020: 34: 2138-2149.
  • Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0790-01 Predicted age-standardized and all ages five-year net survival estimates for selected primary types of cancer, by sex, three years combined. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310079001.

Medical disclaimer

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