Hematologic Malignancies Among Adults in Southeast Asia: Incidence, Mortality, and Regional Contexts
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: Southeast Asia (SEA), home to over 690 million people across 11 countries-Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam-features diverse socioeconomic contexts and cancer care landscapes. We report and interpret incidence and mortality statistics for hematologic malignancies (HMs) in SEA. METHODS: We analyzed 2022 Global Cancer Observatory data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer to report age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000 individuals age 20 years and older. We focused on non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), leukemia, multiple myeloma (MM), and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), standardized using Segi-Doll world population estimates. RESULTS: Across 11 Southeast Asian countries, age-standardized incidence and mortality rates (ASIRs and ASMRs) for HMs vary widely, highlighting significant regional disparities. Singapore consistently reports the highest ASIRs for NHL, leukemia, MM, and HL, yet its ASMRs are much lower, reflecting strong health care infrastructure. Thailand, Brunei, and Malaysia mirror these associations, which are particularly pronounced in NHL and HL. In contrast, for leukemia and MM, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam demonstrated lower ASIR and ASMR that approaches ASIR, suggesting barriers to diagnosis and survivorship. Time trends suggest increasing mortality from MM and NHL, particularly in Thailand and the Philippines. Overall, survival outcomes correlate strongly with national health care capacity. CONCLUSION: Higher reported incidence in wealthier SEA countries may reflect greater diagnostic capacity, whereas similar incidence and mortality in low-income countries likely indicates limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment. Mortality patterns underscore the region's broad disparities in cancer care infrastructure and outcomes, shaped by socioeconomic and systemic health inequities.
Source: JCO Global Oncology
DOI: 10.1200/go-25-00206
Authors: Erin Jay G. Feliciano, Urvish Jain, Edward Christopher Dee, Aryan Selokar, J. Richelyn Baclay, James Fan Wu, Frances Dominique V. Ho, Bhav Jain, Tej A. Patel, Nishwant Swami, Kaisin Yee, Kaitlyn Lapen, Rod Carlo Columbres, Navin Bhatt, Adrian E. Go, Brandon S. Imber, Imjai Chitapanarux, Frederic Ivan L. Ting, Douglas Tremblay, Angelica Singh, Damai Santosa, Suporn Chuncharunee, Gin-Gin Gan, Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy
Institutions: Ateneo de Manila University, Mount Sinai Queens, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of Pittsburgh, University of Cambridge, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Medical College of Wisconsin, University of the Philippines Manila, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Health System, SingHealth, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, Duke-NUS Medical School, National Institutes of Health, William Carey University, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Cebu Institute of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, University of St. La Salle, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Tisch Cancer Institute, Diponegoro University, Dr. Kariadi Hospital, Mahidol University, Ramathibodi Hospital, University of Malaya
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,472
OpenAlex ID: W4417341547