Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends in the incidence rates of major types of leukemia viz. acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mixed phenotypic acute leukemia (MPAL), in the population of upper Assam who have visited Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, during the period June 2012 to June 2016. Due to the lack of any leukemia screening program, the majority of the people are not aware of the disease. Epidemiological study can play a vital role in understanding the occurrence and outcome of the disease. The present study is carried out to see the pattern of leukemia in different ethnic population of upper Assam. Method: 204 cases of leukemias comprising of 120 males and 84 females were analysed focusing on their ethnicity. Result: The highest number of leukemia cases was found in Mongoloids 83 cases (40.69%) followed by Tea tribes 58 cases (28.43%). The highest number of AML (45.74%), ALL (39.13%) and CLL (72.73%) cases were found in Mongoloids while the highest number of CML (34.09%) was found in Tea tribes. Conclusions: Ethnicity is independent of disease type and severity at diagnosis and should be taken into consideration in the management of leukemia patients, especially in terms of social and psychological support. It reflects socioeconomic differences and must be taken into consideration for long time survival of patients with leukemia.

Keywords: Leukemia; Ethnicity and Race.