UKE Tests 3D-Printed Medications in Pediatric Oncology for the First Time

At the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), patients are being treated for the first time with medications produced directly in the hospital pharmacy using 3D printing. An ongoing study conducted by the hospital pharmacy in collaboration with the pediatric oncology department is investigating whether individually dosed chewable tablets are better accepted than conventional medications. The tablets contain dexamethasone, a drug used to prevent nausea during certain chemotherapy treatments.

The production of personalized medications poses a significant challenge, particularly in pediatrics. Many medications are only available in solid form, making accurate dosing and administration difficult. “We are the first hospital in Germany to develop 3D-printed medications in-house and administer them to pediatric oncology patients as part of a study. Our goal is to enable more precise drug dosing,” explains Dr. Adrin Dadkhah, Co-Head of Research and Education at the UKE hospital pharmacy.

A major challenge in medication administration is often acceptance by young patients. Many children have difficulty swallowing tablets, especially when they are bitter-tasting or too large. “Some of our young patients find the taste so unpleasant or the tablets so big that they simply cannot swallow them,” says Dr. Beate Winkler, senior physician in the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at UKE.

Additionally, many medications require weight-based dosing, which often necessitates splitting or crushing tablets, making precise dosing difficult.

As part of the study, children undergoing two additional cycles of chemotherapy known to cause severe nausea will receive traditional tablets in one cycle and 3D-printed chewable tablets in the other. Afterwards, children, parents, and caregivers will be surveyed on acceptance and usability. “The study focuses both on acceptance and complexity, meaning the overall safety of drug therapy,” explains Dr. Claudia Langebrake, research group leader at the UKE hospital pharmacy.

If the benefits of 3D printing in drug production are confirmed, additional applications could follow. In the future, it may be possible to combine multiple active ingredients in a single tablet or adjust dosages more flexibly based on treatment progress. The study is expected to continue until 2026.