Chemo or not Chemo – that is the question 

Chemo or not Chemo – that is the question 

I often see certain drugs for the treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) described as "chemotherapy". Although since I wrote the first edition of this post in 2016, I don't see it as much today in 2024.  Education is a wonderful thing! I think there must be some confusion with more modern drugs which are more targeted and work in a different way to Chemotherapy.  According to Mayo Clinic: "In many ways, cytotoxic chemotherapy is "targeted" at specific molecules that regulate progression through the cell cycle; however, these targets are generally not specific for tumour cells. Because systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy targets…
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Chemotherapy for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

Chemotherapy for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

By Ronny Allan – Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer Chemotherapy has a long and complicated history in the management of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) (an umbrella term for both Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET) and Neuroendocrine Carcinomas (NEC)).  Unlike many other cancers, most well‑differentiated NETs are relatively resistant to traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, chemotherapy remains an important option for specific subtypes, particularly higher‑grade disease, and certain anatomical sites.  There's a myth that circulates the NET patient groups along the lines of "chemotherapy does not work for NETs". That's not entirely true or at best totally out of context.  However, it's true to say that…
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Curtis Crump: “If I’m going down, it won’t be without a fight.”

Curtis Crump: “If I’m going down, it won’t be without a fight.”

Curtis Crump: Credit MD Anderson Cancer Center Curtis Crump has an amazing story to tell.  Given 6 months to live, he refused to accept that prognosis and looked elsewhere. He found a top hospital that directed him to an established clinical trial of immunotherapy. Curtis has a high grade aggressive type of Neuroendocrine Cancer called Neuroendocrine Carcinoma (with a Colon primary).  The immunotherapy has some effect to the point that he was able to have surgery, a treatment option not always available to poorly differentiated Neuroendocrine Carciomas. His story is relevant to many people's experiences across the broad spectrum of…
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