AIEOP is a scientific assoxiation accredited by the Ministry of Health, operating throughout Italy with 49 affiliated centers and about 750 members among healthcare professionals.
AIEOP’s main purpose is promoting research and care activities in the field of pediatric hematology and oncology, as well as developing and coordinating treatment protocols, disseminating knowledge, facilitating national and international collaborations and stimulating synergies between associations.
To guarantee quality of care, AIEOP centers are identified according to specific qualitative, structural, technological and quantitative requirements and they adopt common treatment protocols.
AIEOP’s headquarters is based in Bologna. It oversees the Database and supports their activities.
Every year about 2,300 cases, including new diagnoses, bone marrow transplants and immunodeficiencies, are registered with a unique identifier. To date, more than 65,000 cases have been reported.
The history of AIEOP starts in 1971, from the drafting of the first Italian protocol for the treatment of pediatric acute leukemia, which is no longer an incurable disease.
The Italian Association of Pediatric Immunology and Oncology was born in 1975. Then, in 1985, it took on the new name of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (AIEOP). The Association deals with leukemia, childhood cancers and non-tumor haematological diseases by drawing up protocols and guidelines.
Since 1989, all new cases of cancer diagnosed in AIEOP centers have been registered. AIEOP is the first pediatric hemato-oncology association in the world to create a database, which became electronic in 2000. The analysis of the results of the care protocols allows for the identification of appropriate improvements to be implemented in the next protocol.