ASHP information on off-label uses
Executive Summary
On Feb. 24, the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists gave FDA's Medicine Staff a list of off-label uses of six products. Responding to an FDA request, ASHP's Speciality Practice Groups provided references to supporting literature on the uses of: paclitaxel for, metastatic breast cancer; cisplatin for lung cancer; cytarabine for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; carbamazepine for bipolar mood disorders; valproic acid for bipolar mood disorders; and aminoglycoside antibiotics for once-daily administration. A study by Bowden et al. in the March 23 Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that Abbott's Depakote (divalproex sodium) is as effective as lithium (the only drug approved for treating mania) in the treatment of acute mania