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Cancer drug shortages delay treatment, worsen patient outcomes and can cause significant stress to patients, healthcare providers and caregivers.1–4 Furthermore, they increase drug costs and the economic burden on patients.5 According to the Food and Drug Administration in the USA, 122 drugs out of 138 are facing shortage issues, involving 16 cancer drugs, at the time of writing this paper.6 Similarly, IQVIA, a leading data analytics platform, reported that cancer drug shortages have been significantly increasing since 2020 in the USA.7 Cisplatin, methotrexate, capecitabine and carboplatin were reported as facing shortage issues between March and June 2023.7 Drug shortages are also an issue within paediatric oncology practices,8 leading paediatricians to advocate for increased pharmaceutical production and strategical distribution.9