Research presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s 2014 Annual Meeting suggests that a new treatment may be an effective treatment option for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).
The novel therapy, which is called peptide receptor chemo-radionuclide therapy (PRCRT), combines powerful radionuclide treatment with chemotherapy drugs, according to the researchers. In their study, they noted that the experimental treatment stabilized or led to regression of cancer in approximately 70% of patients with progressive NETs 1 year after treatment was completed.
The researchers evaluated patients who had undergone at least three treatment courses with Lutetium-177 DOTA-Octreotate, which is indicated for inoperable patients with NETs expressing somatostatin hormone receptors. Grade 2 disease was prevalent in the cohort. Radio-sensitizing chemotherapy was added for 63 of 68 patients.
Survival was 72% at 2 years, with more than half of patients surviving at least 5 years after treatment.
The researchers noted that PRCRT shows promise as a viable and successful treatment option for patients with advanced cancer of the neuroendocrine system, especially among those with aggressive disease and worse prognoses. More data, however, is necessary before the therapy becomes standard.
PRCRT is currently gaining traction in Europe and Australia and is now in clinical trials in the United States.
Novel Therapy May Be Effective for Neuroendocrine Tumors
Advanced cancer of the neuroendocrine system can lead to dismal prognoses, but a novel therapy is packing a punch by uniting powerful radionuclide treatment and chemotherapy drugs, revealed researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s 2014 Annual Meeting.
The research findings show that the experimental therapy led to stabilization or regression of patients’ cancer in about 70 percent of cases a year after completion of the treatment, now called peptide receptor chemo-radionuclide therapy (PRCRT). The therapy is just catching on across Europe and Australia and now in U.S. clinical trials.
From Medical News Today
