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Introduction Population-level survival has improved for common haematologic malignancies in the early 21st century. However, relatively few population-level data are available for rare haematologic malignancies. Methods Data were extracted from 12 cancer registries in Germany and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database in the United States (US). Cases of haematologic malignancies with an incidence of less than 1 per 100,000 were selected for analysis. Period analysis was used to determine 5-year relative survival (RS) for the years 2003–2012, and modelled period analysis was used to determine changes in survival between 2003–2007 and 2008–2012. Results Seven individual haematologic malignancies which met criteria were identified. Overall 5-year age-adjusted RS was 62.4% in Germany and 57.0% in the US in 2003–2012, with a good deal of variability by individual haematologic malignancy, ranging from less than 30% for chronic monomyeloid leukaemia to greater than 85% for hairy cell leukaemia and mycosis fungoides. Five-year RS increased significantly between 2003–2007 and 2008–2012 for patients with mantle cell lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma and hairy cell leukaemia in Germany and for patients with mantle cell lymphoma and anaplastic large-cell kinase+ anaplastic lymphoma in the US. Conclusions Survival for rare haematologic malignancies varied considerably by cancer entity. Overall 5-year RS was slightly higher in Germany compared to the US. Survival estimates increased for a minority of haematologic malignancies between 2003–2007 and 2008–2012. Further research into the best treatment options for rare malignancies is needed to further improve survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has produced 5-year survival of 90 + % for chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) patients in clinical trials. However, population level survival has been lower, especially in older patients. Here, we examine survival of patients with CML in Germany and compare it to survival of patients in the United States (US). Methods: Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database in the US and 11 cancer registries in Germany. Patients 15-69 years old diagnosed with CML were included in the analysis. Period analysis for 2002-2006 was used to provide the most up-to-date possible estimates of five-year relative survival. Results: Five-year relative survival was 68.7% overall in Germany and 72.7% in the US. Survival was higher in the US for all age groups except for ages 15-39 years, but the difference was only statistically significant for ages 50- 59 years (at 67.5% vs 77.7% in Germany and the US, respectively). Survival decreased with age, ranging from 83.1% and 81.9%, respectively, in Germany and the US for patients 15-39 years old to 54.2% and 54.5%, respectively, in patients 65-69 years old. Survival increased between 2002 and 2006 by 12.0% points in Germany and 17.1% points in the US. Conclusions: Five-year survival estimates were higher in the US than in Germany overall, but the difference was only significant for ages 50-59 years. Survival did not equal that seen in clinical trials for either country, but strong improvement in survival was seen between 2002 and 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]