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Non-licensed Medication
Last update on: 01/20/2009
In Austria annually about 150 children are diagnosed with cancer, in Germany about 2.000. In Austria, if one adds the diagnoses of patients up to 18, the annual patient number would rise to an average of about 250. Due to these low numbers there is very little licensed medication for child and adolescent cancer patients.
It is the aim of the treatment optimisation studies (TOS) to develop and apply standardised treatment, according to the current expertise, for all child cancer centres concerned. The young patients are largely being treated with medication only licensed for adults and which are in fact not licensed for the treatment of malign disease amongst children. Therefore, according to TOS studies, currently attending doctors still use medication only licensed for adults.
The non-licensed ("off-label") application of these drugs has, however, largely contributed to the increase of the survival and curing rate of child cancer patients.
"This so-called off-label usage of medication is still used successfully by doctors today in suitable dosage and modified combinations".
Michael Dworzak, M.D.,
Head of Department at St. Anna Children’s Hospital,
Scientist at St. Anna Kinderkrebsforschung (Children’s Cancer Research Institute) and OVERCOMING CANCER WITH RESEARCH partner
