The Survival Rate of Leukemia Patients in Asian Regions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

Leukemia is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, especially in children. The present research aims to comprehensively estimate leukemia cancer survival in Asian countries through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The current research is a systematic review and meta-analysis of leukemia patients' survival rates in Asian countries. Five databases ISI, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were used to search for relevant studies. Keywords were selected based on MeSH. The search for studies continued until February 1, 2023. The random-effects model was used to reduce the risk of bias in the studies. The Egger’s regression test was also used to evaluate the risk of publication bias. A total number of 73 papers were considered for the analysis. All analyses were performed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 2 software.

The overall one-year and five-year survival rates of the leukemia patients were 62.3% (95% CI: 60.9%-63.6%) and 46.7% (95% CI: 41.2%-52.3%), respectively. The results of the subgroup analysis revealed that the five-year survival rate of myeloid leukemia was 36.3% (95% CI: 35.8%-36.8%), while the five-year survival rate of lymphoid leukemia was 62.4% (95% CI: 58.2%-66.4%). The results of the overall 5-year survival rate of leukemia patients by age group showed that, in general, children have a higher survival rate than adults [63.3% (95% CI: 58.7%-67.6%) vs. 27.6% (95% CI: 23.2%-32.6%)].

In general, the survival rates of leukemia patients in Asian countries are very different. On the whole, however, the present study demonstrated that the five-year survival rate for leukemia patients in Asian countries has achieved a level of 46.7%, irrespective of variables such as age, cancer stage, or treatment protocol.