Types of blood cancer

Blood cancers: overview

There are three main types of blood cancers, leukaemias, lymphomas, and myeloma.

Find out more: What are blood cancers and blood disorders?

Blood cancers are relatively rare diseases. They are called blood cancers because, in each, it is a type of blood cell that has become cancerous. Leukaemias and lymphomas are cancers of white blood cells. Myeloma is a cancer of blood cells called plasma cells (1-5).

Myelodysplastic syndrome and myeloproliferative disorders

These are two other groups of conditions previously thought of as blood disorders. As doctors have found out more about them, they are now usually described as cancers or pre-cancers.

Find out more: Myelodysplastic syndrome and myeloproliferative disorders.

Leukaemias

In the UK, there are around 1,100 new cases of leukaemia each year. People often associate leukaemia with children, but it’s most common in older people, with around four out of 10 cases diagnosed in people over 75 (6). It is slightly more common in men - around six out of 10 cases diagnosed (7).

There are two main groups of leukaemias: chronic and acute. There are also subtypes of each group.

Roughly equal numbers of chronic and acute leukaemias are diagnosed each year. But chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) are much more common than chronic myeloid (CML) and acute lymphoblastic (ALL) leukaemia (8-11). ALL is very rare overall, but most common in children under five (10).

Find out more: Types of blood cancer: leukaemia.

Lymphomas

Lymphomas are cancers of white blood cells called lymphocytes. These are made in the bone marrow but collect in the spleen and lymph glands. So you may hear lymphoma called lymphatic system cancer or lymph node cancer.

There are two main types of lymphoma: non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin lymphoma. In the UK, there are around 16,200 new cases of lymphoma each year, with 14,100 of these being NHL (12,13). NHL is most common in older people, becoming steadily more common from around age 55. More than a third of cases are in people aged 75 or over (14).

You can get Hodgkin lymphoma at any age, but it is most likely in people in their early twenties or in older age. In women, it is most common between the ages of 20 and 24. In men, it is most common in the over-75s (15).

Find out more: Types of blood cancer: lymphoma.

Myeloma

Myeloma is a cancer of blood cells called plasma cells. In the UK, there are around 5,800 new cases of myeloma each year (16). It is very much a disease of older age. More than four out of 10 people diagnosed are at least 75 years old (17). It is also more common in men than women (16,17).

Find out more: Types of blood cancer: myeloma.