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Key Statistics for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most common cancers in the United States, accounting for about 4% of all cancers.
The American Cancer Society’s estimates for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2024 are:
- About 80,620 people (44,590 males and 36,030 females) will be diagnosed with NHL. This includes both adults and children.
- About 20,140 people will die from this cancer (11,780 males and 8,360 females).
Overall, the chance that a man will develop NHL in his lifetime is about 1 in 42; for a woman, the risk is about 1 in 52. But each person’s risk can be affected by a number of risk factors.
NHL can occur at any age. In fact, it is one of the more common cancers among children, teens, and young adults. Still, the risk of developing NHL increases throughout life, and more than half of people are 65 or older when they are first diagnosed.
Incidence rates have declined by about 1% per year for NHL since 2015. And from 2012 to 2021, the death rate decreased by 2% per year.
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- References
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2024. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024.
Freedman AS, Jacobson CA, Mauch P, Aster JC. Chapter 103: Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In: DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, eds. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015.
Noone AM, Howlader N, Krapcho M, Miller D, Brest A, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2015, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2015/, based on November 2017 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, April 2018.
Roschewski MJ, Wilson WH. Chapter 106: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier; 2014.
Last Revised: January 17, 2024
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