Researchers have found that combining the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with standard chemotherapy may improve treatment outcomes in patients with small cell bladder cancer and small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Gu et al in Cell Reports Medicine....
Cabozantinib may be effective at improving progression-free survival in patients with previously treated neuroendocrine tumors, according to recent findings presented by Chan et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 (Abstract 1141O) and simultaneously published in The ...
As reported in The Lancet by Simron Singh, MD, MPH, FRCPC, and colleagues, primary results of the international, multicenter, randomized phase III NETTER-2 study have shown significantly improved progression-free survival with the addition of the radioligand lutetium-177 dotatate (Lu-177 dotatate)...
On April 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lutetium Lu-177 dotatate (Lutathera) for pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including foregut, midgut, and hindgut...
In a phase II trial (FIRSTMAPPP) reported in The Lancet, Eric Baudin, MD, and colleagues found that the multikinase inhibitor sunitinib was active in patients with metastatic progressive pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas. As stated by the investigators, “No randomized controlled trial has ever...
Investigators have found that the protein UCHL1 may be used as a molecular biomarker for diagnosing patients with highly aggressive neuroendocrine carcinomas and neuroblastoma and predicting and monitoring responses to therapy, according to a study published by Liu et al in Cell Reports Medicine....
Lorraine A. Chantrill, PhD, MBBS, of Australia’s Wollongong Hospital, New South Wales, discusses phase II findings on the combination of nab-paclitaxel plus carboplatin as a first-line treatment for patients with gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas. According to Dr. Chantrill, this regimen appears to be active in these tumors and warrants further evaluation in a phase III trial (Abstract 589).
Results from the first phase III clinical trial evaluating radioligand therapy in the first-line setting demonstrated that treatment with lutetium Lu-177 dotatate significantly improved progression-free survival and objective response rates in patients with high-grade gastroenteropancreatic...
A novel blood test may accurately detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinoma, according to a recent study published by Franceschini et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with metastatic prostate...
An ASCO guideline has been developed to inform the use of systemic treatments for metastatic, well-differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).1 The guideline helps fill a knowledge gap among community oncologists in particular, who typically do not see many of these rare ...
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology announced detailed results from CABINET (Alliance A021602), a phase III pivotal trial evaluating cabozantinib compared with placebo in two cohorts of previously treated patients with neuroendocrine tumors. The data were presented by Chan et al at the...
An interim analysis of the CABINET trial has shown that the phase III pivotal trial has met its primary endpoint, according to a press release from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Cabozantinib demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in...
In a French noncomparative phase II trial (PRODIGE 41-BEVANEC) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Walter et al found that the addition of bevacizumab to FOLFIRI (irinotecan, leucovorin, and fluorouracil) did not appear to improve overall survival in the second-line treatment of patients with advanced ...
Researchers have found that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may be an effective treatment for patients with early-stage lung neuroendocrine tumors, according to a new study published by Oliver et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. Background Primary...
In a European retrospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Nesti et al found evidence that right-sided hemicolectomy is not indicated in patients who had complete resection, via appendectomy, of appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) measuring 1 to 2 cm. As stated by the...
Researchers revealed that patients with neuroendocrine cancer overwhelmingly prioritized quality of life over living longer, according to a new study published by Li et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The researchers surveyed 60 patients with advanced...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pamela L. Kunz, MD, and colleagues, the phase II ECOG-ACRIN E2211 trial has shown significantly prolonged progression-free survival with the addition of capecitabine to temozolomide in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Study ...
In a Japanese phase III trial (TOPIC-NEC) reported in JAMA Oncology, Morizane et al found no difference in overall survival with etoposide/cisplatin (EP) vs irinotecan/cisplatin (IP) in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced digestive system neuroendocrine carcinoma. Study Details The open-label ...
In the updated final analysis of the phase II ECOG-ACRIN E2211 trial, patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors experienced a significant improvement in progression-free survival with capecitabine plus temozolomide over temozolomide alone.1 Although the 5-month difference in overall...
Mairéad G. McNamara, PhD, MBBCh, of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, discusses phase II findings of the NET-02 trial, which explored an unmet need in the second-line treatment of patients with progressive, poorly differentiated extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma. In the trial, the combination of liposomal irinotecan, fluorouracil, and folinic acid, but not docetaxel, met the primary endpoint of 6-month progression-free survival rate (Abstract 4005).
In a single-institution phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Halperin et al found that the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab showed activity in treatment of advanced well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. As stated by the investigators, “Therapies for patients with advanced...
The rising incidence and prevalence of gastroenteropancreatic endocrine tumors make them the second-most prevalent gastrointestinal cancer.1 Although most of these tumors are relatively slow growing, their histologic grade and differentiation are closely correlated with their clinical behavior.2,3...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III NETTER-1 trial has shown an approximately 12-month benefit with the addition of lutetium Lu-177 dotatate to long-acting octreotide in...
In an Italian retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Pusceddu et al found that upfront peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) was associated with better progression-free survival vs upfront chemotherapy or targeted therapy in patients with advanced well-differentiated...
Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with lutetium-177 (Lu-177) dotatate is a treatment for well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved in 2018, but clinicians have lacked a metric for predicting its benefit on an individual patient basis....
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the pivotal phase III NETTER-1 trial has shown an approximate 12-month benefit with the addition of lutetium-177 (Lu-177) dotatate to long-acting octreotide in patients with...
The invited discussant of the FIRSTMAPP study, Rocio Garcia-Carbonero, MD, of Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, emphasized that pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma are rare tumors, and once they become metastatic, which is even more rare, there are few treatment options. “This is very...
Results from the phase II FIRSTMAPPP study support the potential use of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib in two rare neuroendocrine malignancies—pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. Sunitinib significantly improved the primary endpoint of progression-free survival vs placebo, according to...
Dieter Hörsch, MD, of Germany’s Central Clinic in Bad Berka, discusses phase III results from the SPINET trial, the largest prospective study to date of the somatostatin analog lanreotide autogel. The study suggests that this agent may prove to be an appropriate treatment option for patients with somatostatin receptor–positive bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, especially typical carcinoids (Abstract 1096O).
In a population-based study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Bateni et al found that 8% of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) developed second primary cancers over approximately 7.5 years of follow-up, with types of secondary malignancies differing according to NET type. The...
The first randomized study in patients with malignant pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma has found that sunitinib prolongs progression-free survival by more than 5 months. The late-breaking results of the FIRSTMAPPP trial were presented by Eric Baudin, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the European...
In a new study published by Hallet et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, among patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the risk of dying of cancer was higher than that of dying of other causes, but mortality varied by primary tumor site. According to the authors,...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Pamela Kunz, MD, Director, Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Kunz is an international leader in the clinical care of patients with neuroendocrine...
On August 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved belzutifan (Welireg), a hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor, for adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease who require therapy for associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas, or...
In a phase II trial (TALENT; GETNE1509) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jaume Capdevila, MD, and colleagues found that lenvatinib produced durable responses in patients with previously treated advanced grade 1 or 2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Study Details In the...
Rocio Garcia-Carbonero, MD, of Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre, discusses results of the phase II/III AXINET trial, which showed that axitinib plus long-acting release octreotide improved overall response compared with placebo and octreotide in patients with advanced grade 1 or 2 extrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. However, no significant improvement in progression-free survival was observed (Abstract 360).
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Xu et al, the Chinese phase III SANET-p trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with surufatinib vs placebo in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Surufatinib is a novel small-molecule inhibitor that targets...
In the Chinese phase III SANET-ep trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Xu et al found that surufatinib improved progression-free survival vs placebo in patients with advanced extrapancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Surufatinib is a novel small-molecule inhibitor that targets VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2,...
Scientists have used artificial intelligence in an extensive analysis of the immune and genetic landscapes of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Their findings were published by Young et al in the journal Gut. Pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer starts in cells that produce hormones such as insulin....
In a Korean study reported in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Lee et al identified clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the gallbladder. Study Details The study involved data from 34 patients with gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinomas ...
In a single-institution Korean study reported in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Kim et al found that chromogranin A expression in rectal neuroendocrine tumors is associated with more aggressive clinical characteristics and poorer prognosis. As stated by the investigators, “Although...
Neuroendocrine tumors are rare malignancies that arise in neuroendocrine cells, which can occur throughout the body but are most commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and pancreas. Although most neuroendocrine tumors are indolent and take years to grow, some are aggressive and grow...
As reported in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology by Simron Singh, MD, MPH, and colleagues, the Commonwealth Neuroendocrine Tumour Research Collaboration (CommNETs) and North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) have collaborated to produce a best practice guideline for the diagnosis and...
Two new studies led by Renuka Iyer, MD, Section Chief for Gastrointestinal Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and published in Oncotarget and Cancer, respectively, highlight possible new treatment options for patients with neuroendocrine tumors. SurVaxM The first report,...
For patients with neuroendocrine tumors and liver metastases, a new radiopharmaceutical, Ga-68 DOTA-JR11, has shown a benefit in imaging for tumor detection, staging, and restaging, providing important information to guide treatment. In a head-to-head comparison of two somatostatin receptor (SSTR)...
For patients with neuroendocrine tumors and liver metastases, a new radiopharmaceutical, Ga-68 DOTA-JR11, has shown a benefit in imaging for tumor detection, staging, and restaging, providing important information to guide treatment. In a head-to-head comparison of two somatostatin receptor (SSTR)...
Although the live 2020 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference was canceled, more than 100 posters scheduled for presentation are now available online, as part of the NCCN 2020 Virtual Annual Conference. The ASCO Post has summarized some of the clinical trial updates we found ...
A team of researchers and patient advocates have addressed the challenges related to traveling after receiving radiation therapy involving Lu-177 dotatate in a study published by Kendi et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Due to the residual radiation activity of Lu-177 dotatate, some patients ...
Over the past 2 weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML); Fast Track designations for agents in pancreatic cancer and pancreatic/nonpancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; approvals for companion diagnostic tests;...
In a single-institution analysis reported in the journal Pancreas, Khetan et al found that age at diagnosis, perineural invasion, and elevated preoperative chromogranin levels may be associated with an increased risk of disease progression in patients with advanced grade 1 or 2 small-bowel...