The 5-year relative survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) climbed to 72.7% and is as high as 82.6% for localized NHL, according to the most recent SEER data. The number of new cases remains high at 19.1 per 100,000 people (all races) per year; however the number of deaths is relatively low at 5.7 deaths per 100,000 people (all races) per year. Death rates have been falling on average 2.4% each year from 2004 to 2013.
While the new cases represent 4.3% of all new cancer diagnoses, NHL deaths represent 3.4% of all cancer deaths. Based on 2011-2013 SEER data, about 2.1% of men and women will receive a NHL diagnosis at some point during their lifetime.
Patient diagnoses by stage:
- 28% are diagnosed at the local stage
- 15% are diagnosed with spread to regional lymph nodes
- 50% are diagnosed after distant cancer has metastasized
- 8% unknown/unstaged
As of 2013, there were an estimated 569,536 people living with NHL in the U.S.
Using statistical models for analysis, rates for new non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases have not changed significantly over the past 10 years.
