Epidemiological Analysis and Overall Survival of Leukemia in Adults in a Developing Middle Eastern Country over 18 Years

Introduction: Leukemia in adults imposes significant global health burden not only due to the presenting clinical characteristics, but also due to the resultant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the identification of the epidemiological features, including the overall survival and crude incidence, in developing middle eastern countries such as Jordan is of paramount importance and significance in the risk stratification and introduction of effective measures.

Methods: Thorough data on a cohort of 4146 adult individuals of different nationalities residing in Jordan who were diagnosed with leukemia during the period of 2000-2018 was retrieved from the Jordan Cancer Registry, the formal cancer epidemiology reporting entity in Jordan. Statistical analysis was performed to establish the epidemiological characteristics of leukemia in adults in Jordan over a period of 18 years.

Results: A total of 4146 adult patients with a mean age of 49.5 ± 18 years old and a male predominance of 59.5% were included in the analysis. A considerable portion, 50.5%, of the study population were non-smokers at the time of diagnosis. Acute myeloid leukemia was the most commonly encountered leukemia as it accounted for 35.2% of all cases, followed by chronic myeloid leukemia in 20.8% of the patients, and subsequently followed by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia that were reported in 17.2% and 15.7% of the patients, respectively. Hairy cell leukemia was identified in 102 (2.5%) of the patients. A statistically significant decline in the crude incidence of adult leukemia over 18 years was evident with a crude incidence estimated effect of -0.048. The overall survival was 88.0%, 84.7%, 84.1%, 83.8%, and 83.4% at 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year interval, respectively.

Conclusion: Over a span of 18 years, adult leukemia in Jordan demonstrated a relatively young average age at diagnosis and thus mandates thorough vigilance. Interestingly however, Jordan demonstrates a higher 5-year survival rate than the witnessed overall survival rates internationally.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.