title: Incidence and geographic distribution of adult acute leukemia in the state of Georgia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated an apparent increase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) referrals from northern Georgia to a tertiary care center located in Atlanta.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases reported to the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry and the national Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry between 1999 and 2008 were analyzed. Age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for all of the counties and public health regions and were compared with national rates calculated using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results 17 data. Cases of adult acute myeloid leukemia served as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age-adjusted incidence rates of adult ALL (0.8/100,000) and acute myeloid leukemia (4.6/100,000) were comparable to the national rates (0.9 and 5.2, respectively). The age-adjusted incidence rate of ALL in northern Georgia was 1.1 (95% confidence interval 0.8-1.5) and was not affected by race.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed increase in cases of ALL at our tertiary center results from a referral pattern rather than heterogeneous distribution of adult ALL across Georgia.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Fuad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El Rassi
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Flowers
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Leonard T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Heffner
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Edmund K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Elliott F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Winton
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vaughn
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Brittany G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Langston
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nooka
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arellano
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia, and the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
authors.forename: Hanna Jean
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Khoury
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012042:Registries