Average lifespan shortened due to Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia in Japan, 1990–2015

Abstract

We examined whether there were gains in lifespan among patients who died from hematological cancers in Japan between 1990 and 2015 using the novel average lifespan shortened (ALSS) measure. We obtained mortality data from the World Health Organization mortality database. Years of life lost (YLL) was calculated using Japanese life tables. ALSS measure was calculated as a ratio of YLL to the expected lifespan. The ALSS results showed that the lifespan of patients who died from hematological cancers has improved over time. For instance, women who died of leukemia in 1990 lost about 34% of their lifespan; conversely, those who died in 2015 lost about 20%. Likewise, men dying from non-Hodgkin lymphoma lost about 22% of their lifespan in 1990, whereas men lost about 14% in 2015. In summary, the new ALSS measure shows prolonged lifespans among patients who died from hematological cancers in Japan over the study period.

Keywords:

• Average lifespan shortened
• average years of life lost
• hematological cancer
• premature mortality
• years of life lost

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the WHO and sincerely thank their staff for their efforts in collecting and monitoring the mortality database. The content in this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and the views of the authors do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

The mortality data due to hematological cancers in Japan that support the findings of this study can be directly obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database at http://www.who.int/healthinfo/mortality_data/en/