Neuroendocrine Cancer – Liver directed therapy

Neuroendocrine Cancer – Liver directed therapy

Treatment
Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) present complex challenges to diagnosis and treatment. Even in metastatic cases spreading to the liver, there are some important differences compared to the more common types of gastrointestinal tumours and pancreatic adenocarcinomas, e.g. their sometimes-indolent nature and their ability to oversecrete hormones causing distinct clinical syndromes. Also, the tumours are known to be highly vascular which is a feature where growth inhibition and symptom relief may be achieved by specific 'blocking' agents - this is particularly the case with liver metastases in well-differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs).Spread to the liver may occur from NETs of the foregut, midgut as well as hindgut. NET metastases are usually multiple and of varying size. In most cases, both liver lobes are affected, but widespread (miliary) seeding throughout the liver is seen…
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Chemo or not Chemo – that is the question 

Chemo or not Chemo – that is the question 

Treatment
Chemo or not Chemo - that is the question OPINION POSTI'm continually seeing certain drugs for the treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) described as "chemotherapy". 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 tumor cells. Because systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells, it also attacks hair follicles, gastrointestinal mucosa, and hematopoietic cells thereby inducing the classical side effects of treatment such as alopecia, nausea, diarrhea, mucositis, and bone marrow suppression. The newer generation of targeted biological therapies is still administered systemically as traditional chemotherapy;…
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