Blood cancer treatment advances have saved nearly 26 million life-years

Since the late 1940s, when the first chemotherapies were introduced, advances in treatment for blood cancers have resulted in an estimated 25.8 million life-years saved in the U.S., according to a new analysis.

Findings suggest that the majority of life-years saved came from a few types of blood cancer that have seen substantial treatment advances. Gains were smaller for other blood cancers, particularly those for which treatment progress has been more limited.

The analysis also highlighted racial disparities in survival. Across most blood cancers, Black patients had worse survival outcomes than white patients, with multiple myeloma a notable exception. Collectively, the findings suggest that modern blood cancer therapies have had a considerable impact, but there are still many unmet needs in blood cancer care.

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The study, “Life-years saved by advances in blood cancer therapy: a retrospective analysis,” was published in Blood Advances.

Blood cancers are a group of disorders marked by the abnormal growth of blood cells. There are many different types and subtypes of blood cancer; collectively, these diseases account for roughly one out of every 10 cancers.

In the late 1940s, the first chemotherapies emerged for blood cancer treatment. Over the decades, advances in blood cancer treatment have included chemotherapy, radiation therapy, transplantation, immune-modulating medicines and targeted treatments.

In this study, a team of U.S. scientists set out to estimate the impact of blood cancer treatments by examining a measure called life-years saved (LYS). Essentially, LYS estimates the additional years of life associated with treatment advances by comparing observed mortality with a modeled scenario in which advances had not occurred.

“As blood cancer incidence continues to rise and more patients depend on ongoing or lifelong treatment for survival, traditional measures such as five-year survival rates and mortality rates do not capture the full story of progress against blood cancer,” E. Anders Kolb, MD, president and CEO of Blood Cancer United and co-author of the study, said in a press release.

“Life-years saved – the number of additional years of life gained because of treatment advances – provides a more meaningful way to monitor progress over time and assess how changes in healthcare policy, research funding and access to treatment may impact patients’ lives,” Kolb added.

Results showed that advances in blood cancer treatment have resulted in an estimated 25.8 million cumulative LYS in the U.S. over the past 75 years. Based on their model, treatment advances now result in more than 1.1 million LYS each year, and even without further improvements, more than 17 million additional LYS are expected to accumulate from 2026 through 2040.

Survival gains have varied widely across blood cancer types

Notably, however, these benefits have not been distributed evenly. Of the estimated 25.8 million cumulative LYS, the majority (about 20 million LYS) came from three types of blood cancer: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). LYS was lower for other cancer types, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and multiple myeloma.

Survival outcomes also differed across racial groups, the researchers found. Specifically, data showed that Black patients had significantly worse survival than white patients across most blood cancers, with multiple myeloma a notable exception. The researchers noted that the analysis did not account for differences in socioeconomic factors, comorbidities or genetics, which are important when comparing survival by race or ethnicity. The scientists emphasized a need for further study into the factors underlying racial and ethnic disparities in blood cancer outcomes.

Broadly, these data illustrate that modern treatments have had a considerable impact, saving tens of millions of years of life over the past 75 years. But major gaps still remain, and the researchers noted that even with current care, blood cancers lead to more than 710,000 life-years lost each year. As such, the scientists called for continued efforts to develop new treatments and improve care strategies to address these gaps.

“This new methodology gives us a clear, intuitive way to measure progress, and to see where we must accelerate it,” said Ann-Kathrin Eisfeld, MD, co-author of the study at The Ohio State University.

“While millions of life-years have been gained, the data show stark gaps, particularly for Black patients and those with acute myeloid leukemia,” Eisfeld said. “Continued investment in research and equitable access to advanced therapies are essential to ensuring all patients benefit from scientific progress. Now we will be able to track progress, or the lack thereof, moving forward, to be able to provide feedback for critical need areas—and required investments.”