History of pediatric hematology-oncology in the Czech Republic

Specialized treatment for children with hematologic and oncologic diseases in the Czech Republic has a relatively short history. Dr. Josef Koutecky in 1964 was the first to organize the discipline of oncologic treatments and started a department that has since grown to include six other senior members. They treat over 250 new patients a year (approximately 150 malignant tumors) with an incidence similar to that in other European nations. Most are treated on cooperative group protocols with other centers in Europe and North America. Over 30 children also receive bone marrow transplants yearly from this group. Hematologic diseases including leukemia were first treated by D.r. O. Hrodek since the late 1950s in the Second Department of Pediatrics in Prague. Eight other centers in the Czech Republic besides Motol treat children with leukemia. Since 1985 they have followed the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) protocols for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). The Motol Hematology Section does about 20 transplants a year. New molecular biology laboratories in both sections aid the diagnosis and follow-up of the patients.