Historical Notes on Pediatric Hematology and Oncology in Switzerland

Abstract

Until the early 1960s the development of pediatric hematology and oncology in Switzerland was characterized by the discoveries of the pioneers Glanzmann and Fanconi and by the work of Willy, Gasser, and all of those who contributed to the first description of the Swiss-type agammuglobulinemia. Since 1964 pediatric oncology started to grow faster than hematology, despite the fact that Swiss pediatric hematologists introduced the i.v. IgG treatment of immune thrombocytopenia and other autoimmune diseases. The Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG) was founded in 1976. Within a few years it became clear that it had to cooperate with larger groups. Actually the most important partners are the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) in the United States, the Berlin/Frankfurt/Münster (BFM) group in Central Europe, and the European branch of the Société Internationale d'Oncologae Pédiatrique (SIOP).

Key Words:

• hematology
• history
• oncology
• pediatrics
• Swiss