Chemotherapy for Neuroendocrine Cancer
Edited and checked April 2024 One of the unusual aspects of Neuroendocrine Cancer is that chemotherapy is not normally considered as a 'standard of care' or first-line treatment, unlike many other cancers. One exception is high grade (Grade 3) where it is very often a first and/or second-line therapy. This is particularly the case with poorly differentiated Neuroendocrine disease, by default labelled as Neuroendocrine Carcinoma (NEC). Many people think Chemotherapy has a short life span due to recent advances in medical science, some citing Immunotherapy as its replacement. However, it's far too early to write off chemotherapy which is still…
CAPTEM for Neuroendocrine Tumours
What is CAPTEM? Capecitabine is an oral drug used alone or with other drugs to treat certain types of colorectal cancer and breast cancer. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer including in combination with a second drug. Capecitabine is taken up by cancer cells and breaks down into fluorouracil, a substance that kills cancer cells. Xeloda is a type of antimetabolite. Also called Xeloda.Temozolomide is an oral drug used to treat adults with certain types of brain tumors. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer including in combination…
Clinical Trial: Testing the Use of Chemotherapy After Surgery for High-Risk Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
An interesting trial centred on SW USA. The use of CAPTEM following surgery in high-risk pancreatic NETs (G2/G3 well-differentiated). Also includes the use of NETest at 3 time points, which is very interesting considering the recent withdrawal of Chromogranin A from US NET Guidelines. (Read about NETest here). Randomized Phase II Trial of Postoperative Adjuvant Capecitabine and Temozolomide versus Observation in High-Risk Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (S2104) is a recently activated National Clinical Trials Network randomized phase II trial designed to compare CAPTEM chemotherapy versus observation following resection of pNETs (see Figure 2). Patients with well-differentiated grade 2 or 3 (Ki-67 up…
Treatment for Neuroendocrine Cancer – a summary for patients
ScopeThis summary provides an overview of the types of therapy known for treating Neuroendocrine Cancer. They will have been approved at least by one national or regional approval agency, may not be available or approved in your own country; and may appear in clinical guidelines for the treatment of Neuroendocrine Cancer.Clinical trials will not be covered, although it's noted that some of the approved treatments listed may be in follow on trials either to prove new coverage or used in combination with another drug. For a list of clinical trials covered by the author, click here. This summary will not…
ASCO 2017 – Let’s talk about NETs #ASCO17
ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) is one of the biggest cancer conferences in the world normally bringing together more than 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies, and ongoing controversies in the field. As Neuroendorine Tumors is on a roll in terms of new treatments and continued research, we appear to be well represented with over 20 'extracts' submitted for review and display. This is fairly complex stuff but much of it will be familiar to many. I've filtered and extracted all the Neuroendocrine stuff into one list providing you with an…
Clinical Trial: PRRT and Chemo combination therapy
Update 2022: Trial complete. Results:The final results of this trial were presented at ASCO 2022 where it was concluded as follows:"CONTROL NETs is the first randomized trial to demonstrate efficacy for PRRT in pNETs, in addition to a standard of care. Extended follow up confirms durable CAPTEM/PRRT activity, with superior PFS in pNETs. Late haematologic toxicity was seen in both mNET PRRT arms but was not higher with additional CAPTEM. The activity of CAPTEM/PRRT in pNETs should be tested in the phase III setting" - click here to read the abstract. Combination treatments are common in chemotherapy, but this trial was…