Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32457620›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2020

Safety of Anticancer Agents Used in Children: A Focus on Their Off-Label Use Through Data From the Spontaneous Reporting System.

Annamaria Mascolo, Cristina Scavone, Michele Bertini, Simona Brusco, Francesca Punzo, Elvira Pota, Martina Di Martino, Daniela Di Pinto, Francesca Rossi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Prevalence of antibody drug conjugated-induced nausea and vomiting (ADCINV) in patients with cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  6. Off-Label Medication: From a Simple Concept to Complex Practical Aspects.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Annamaria MascoloDepartment of Experimental Medicine-Section of Pharmacology "L. Donatelli", University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Cristina ScavoneDepartment of Experimental Medicine-Section of Pharmacology "L. Donatelli", University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Michele BertiniDepartment of Experimental Medicine-Section of Pharmacology "L. Donatelli", University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Simona BruscoDepartment of Experimental Medicine-Section of Pharmacology "L. Donatelli", University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Francesca PunzoDepartment of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Elvira PotaDepartment of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Martina Di MartinoDepartment of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Daniela Di PintoDepartment of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
Francesca RossiDepartment of Woman, Child and General and Specialist Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.
University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAmong factors influencing the higher risk of developing unknown or rare adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among children and adolescents, there is the frequent off-label use of drugs that seems to be very common in pediatric oncological patients. Our study aim to collect and evaluate data on the safety profile of antineoplastic drugs and their off-label use in the pediatrics population using real life data.

methodsWe retrieved Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) with an anticancer agent as suspected drug among those reported through the Campania spontaneous reporting system from 1 January 2013 to 30 September 2019. We classified ICSRs into four off-label categories: "age," "route of administration," "weight," and "therapeutic indication." We defined an ICSR as an off-label case if it met at least one of the aforementioned categories for at least one of the reported suspected antineoplastic drugs.

resultsA total of 18 ICSRs (7.6%) out of 236 were classified as off-label cases. The median age of patients was 13 years (interquartile range, IQR: 6-16), with 94.4% of cases occurring in male patients. In the classification of the off-label category, 16 ICSRs were categorized according to the "therapeutic indication" and two for the "age." No case was categorized for the off-label categories "route of administration" and "weight." The two off-label cases categorized as "age" were both related to the use of brentuximab vedotin for Hodgkin's lymphoma in patients aged 16 years. Twenty-nine ADRs (1.6 suspected adverse drug reactions per ICSR) were identified among off-label cases. Among ADRs, those reported more than one were diarrhea (N = 3), neutropenia (N = 3), nausea (N = 2), pyrexia (N = 2), and vomit (N = 2).

conclusionsOur findings showed a low number of ICSRs classified as off-label. The majority of off-label ICSRs were categorized for the "therapeutic indication." This low number of off-label ICSRs might be largely due to the underreporting phenomenon, which is a major limit in pharmacovigilance. Therefore, we believe that spreading pharmacovigilance knowledge and awareness might improve this aspect.

Indexed as

adverse drug reactionanticancer agentoff-label usepediatricpharmacovigilancesafetyspontaneous reporting system

Identifiers

PMID32457620
PMCPMC7221123
OpenAlexW3023925218

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.