Cancer afflicts approximately 15,000 children and adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients annually and is the most common cause of death for this age group in the United States after unintentional injury and violence. Sterile, injectable chemotherapies provide the backbone for pediatric cancer therapy.

Sterile injectable chemotherapy shortages in the United States have been well-established in recent years. Most recently, vincristine, the most commonly used chemotherapy for pediatric cancer patients, had a significant shortage in 2019. In October 2019, Dr. Peter Adamson, the chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, issued a call to action. This initiative was started as a response to that call to action, with the aim to estimate the annual amount of sterile injectable chemotherapy use in the United States so that policies can be formulated to prevent future shortages.

The purpose of the study is to determine the annual amount and cost of sterile injectable chemotherapy used in the treatment of pediatric cancer patients in the United States.