Incidence of childhood leukemia stable in Nordic countries over two decades

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Using a well-established cancer registry and capturing data of the entire population of Nordic countries, Svendsen et al report that incidence of childhood leukemia rose until 1983 and has been stable since. Data on incidence by birth cohort showed rise to birth in 1980, with sustained incidence but no further rise since. This database, spanning a quarter-century, and less likely than others to have biases of case ascertainment and diagnosis, provides two possible “saturation” points in time for epidemiologists and cancer researchers to consider in hypothesis exploration.