Report finds rise in longevity and survival rates of blood cancer patients

Professor Deirdre Murray, director of NCRI, and professor of epidemiology at University College Cork (UCC) said: 'Genetic testing has been increasingly applied to improve diagnosis and better target treatments for patients with blood cancers.' Picture: Denis Minihane

Many more blood cancer patients are living five years after diagnosis as treatment improves, with the rate now at 67% of patients up from 53% in the 1990s.

Fewer people are dying from these conditions also with a decline by over 1% annually since the 1990s, according to a new National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) report.

This covers cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia, and multiple myeloma among others in the first such report to analyse different blood cancer types.

The incidence of leukaemia cases declined significantly from the mid-2000s, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma rates stabilised from the mid-2010s onwards.

Professor Deirdre Murray, director of NCRI, and professor of epidemiology at University College Cork (UCC) said these positive changes are coming from better treatment.

“The report sheds light on the diversity in incidence and outcomes for blood cancers providing important data to better address the burden of blood cancer in the Irish population,” she said.

“The significant increases in survival and reductions in mortality reflect diagnostic and therapeutic innovations. Genetic testing has been increasingly applied to improve diagnosis and better target treatments for patients with blood cancers.”

However, she also highlighted the need for more focus on some subtypes of blood cancer including acute myeloid leukaemia. The outcomes for patients with this cancer remains less favourable currently.

Prof. Murray explained the overall five-year survival for blood cancers has increased from 53% for 1994-2007 cases to now 67% for people diagnosed between 2008-2021.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

These ongoing increases in survival are reflected in reductions in mortality. Compared to a peak in blood cancer death rates in the late 1990s, mortality has since declined by over 1% annually, the report shows.

Blood cancers are responsible for 10% of all new cancer diagnoses and over 8% of cancer deaths every year. The report also shows some 7,950 people died with blood cancers between 2012 and 2021.

About 2,400 people are diagnosed with blood cancer each year in Ireland, with this number expected to increase to over 3,000 new cases annually by 2030. 

This is linked to increases in population and more people living longer into old age. It means more people at the age where they are more likely to develop blood cancer.