Survival rates vary substantially by leukemia type, ranging from a 5-year relative survival of 24% for patients diagnosed with AML to 80% for those with CLL. Advances in treatment have resulted in a dramatic improvement in survival over the past three decades for most types of leukemia. From 1975-1977 to 1999-2006, the 5year relative survival rate for ALL increased from 42% to 66% overall and from 58% to 89% among children. In large part due to the discovery of the targeted cancer drug Gleevec, 5-year survival rates for CML have increased from 33% for cases diagnosed during 1990-1992 to 55% for those diag¬nosed during 1999-2006.

From: American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2011. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2011