Table 1. Essential medicines for cancer on the national essential medicines lists or national reimbursable medicines lists of 135 countries, 2015.
| Medicine | No. of countries listing medicine (%) |
|---|---|
| On WHO 2013 Model List | |
| Asparaginase | 68 (50) |
| Bleomycin | 94 (70) |
| Calcium folinate | 84 (62) |
| Carboplatin | 73 (54) |
| Chlorambucil | 84 (62) |
| Cyclophosphamide | 120 (89) |
| Cytarabine | 88 (65) |
| Dacarbazine | 73 (54) |
| Dactinomycin | 67 (50) |
| Daunorubicin | 55 (41) |
| Docetaxel | 56 (42) |
| Doxorubicin | 99 (73) |
| Etoposide | 84 (62) |
| Fluorouracil | 109 (81) |
| Hydroxycarbamide | 88 (65) |
| Ifosfamide | 60 (44) |
| Mercaptopurine | 87 (64) |
| Mesna | 53 (39) |
| Methotrexate | 128 (95) |
| Paclitaxel | 65 (48) |
| Procarbazine | 62 (46) |
| Tamoxifen | 112 (83) |
| Tioguanine | 36 (27) |
| Vinblastine | 83 (61) |
| Vincristine | 111 (82) |
| Added to WHO Model List via 2015 revision | |
| All-trans retinoic acida | 19 (14) |
| Aromatase inhibitorsb | 50 (37) |
| Bendamustine | 1 (0.7) |
| Bicalutamide | 38 (28) |
| Capecitabine | 49 (36) |
| Cisplatin | 97 (72) |
| Fludarabine | 40 (30) |
| Gemcitabine | 46 (34) |
| Granulocyte colony stimulating factorsc | 63 (47) |
| Imatinib | 40 (30) |
| Irinotecan | 41 (30) |
| Leuprolin classd | 53 (39) |
| Oxaliplatin | 49 (36) |
| Rituximab | 34 (25) |
| Trastuzumab | 26 (19) |
| Vinorelbine | 37 (27) |
| Other medicinese | |
| Arsenic trioxide | 2 (1) |
| Dasatinib | 10 (7) |
| Diethylstilboestrol | 6 (4) |
| Erlotinib | 14 (10) |
| Gefitinib | 9 (7) |
| Nilotinib | 12 (9) |
WHO: World Health Organization.
a In capsule or tablet form only. Also known as tretinoin.
b Anastrazole, exemestane and/or letrozole.
c Filgrastim, lenograstim and/or pegfilgrastim.
d Goserelin, leuprolin and/or triptorelin.
e Proposed for inclusion in the 2015 WHO Model List but excluded by the relevant expert committee.