Clinical Trial: Phase 1/2a Study of 23ME-00610 in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies (incl Neuroendocrine Neoplasms)

Clinical Trial: Phase 1/2a Study of 23ME-00610 in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies (incl Neuroendocrine Neoplasms)

Clinical Trials and Research
Who are 23andMe?I personally had not heard of 23andMe but many people in North America might have.  When you first look at what they do, you can be excused for thinking they are just another 'Ancestry' company, but they are more than that. They also get involved in genetics and health.  To quote their marketing "we’re all of these things".  Read more here:  About us - 23andMe But what I found most interesting is that they have a clinical trial involving Neuroendocrine Tumors using their product 23ME-00610.  However, an analysis of the documentation available indicates it is aimed at Grade 3 both well and poorly differentiated.  Also includes small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and Merkel Cell Carcinoma. The results from this clinical trial were presented at a recent conference and I will…
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Small Intestine Neuroendocrine Tumours (SI NETs): To cut or not to cut?

Small Intestine Neuroendocrine Tumours (SI NETs): To cut or not to cut?

Treatment
Small Intestine Neuroendocrine Tumours (SI NET) are one of the most common types of Neuroendocrine Cancer, and also one of the most challenging to diagnose and then treat. Patients can have a very good outlook even when presenting with metastatic disease.  However, it's true to say that some NET centres of excellence (CoE) or multi-disciplinary team (MDT) see a lot of SI NET patients have built up considerable experience in treating them, including the use of surgery.  The surgical challenges are such that a surgeon not experienced in treating these cases may shy away or think they are inoperable, whereas MDTs or CoEs potentially have the experience available to operate or to make sound judgements based on their own experience.  At the very least, they can offer a second opinion. …
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A spotlight on Grade 3 (High grade) Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

A spotlight on Grade 3 (High grade) Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

A spotlight on NENs - Types, Awareness, Patient Advocacy
Reviewed and updated 30th May 2023High Grade Neuroendocrine Neoplasms - the forgotten patient group?When reading articles in the mainstream media, found in medical publications; and even listening to doctors speak about my disease, it's clear that the focus is on the term "Neuroendocrine Tumours" or NET for short.  Many websites of advocate foundation organisations and specialist scientific organisations, all still use the term "NET" in their naming.  I too am guilty of having a large Facebook site falling into this category.  It's little wonder that those with high grade disease can often feel like the forgotten patient group.  Clearly all the aforementioned organisations support all patients regardless of grade, but it's true to say that the naming and general use of terminology continues to fall behind. It's also true that…
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Recent Progress in NET Management – Positive presentation from Jonathan R Strosberg MD

Recent Progress in NET Management – Positive presentation from Jonathan R Strosberg MD

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Treatment
I recently wrote a blog called Neuroendocrine Cancer – Exciting Times Ahead! I wrote that on a day I was feeling particularly positive and at the time, I wanted to share that positivity with you. I genuinely believe there's a lot of great things happening. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot still to be done, particularly in the area of diagnosis and quality of life after being diagnosed. However, this is a really great message from a well-known NET expert. In an interview with OncLive, Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, associate professor at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, discussed his presentation on NETs at a recent 2016 Symposium, and shed light on the progress that has been made in this treatment landscape. OncLive: Please highlight some of the main points from your…
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Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET) – benign vs malignant

Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET) – benign vs malignant

Awareness, Patient Advocacy
OPINION:One of the most controversial aspects of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms, in particular low grade Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs), is the 'benign vs malignant' question.  It's been widely debated and it frequently patrols the various patient forums and other social media platforms. It raises emotions and it triggers many responses ..... at least from those willing to engage in the conversation. At best, this issue can cause confusion, at worst, it might contradict what new patients have been told by their physicians (....or not been told). I don't believe it's an exact science and can be challenging for a NET specialist let alone a doctor who is not familiar with the disease.Going forward I'm mostly intending to use the term Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) as that is where the problem lies.NANETS Guidance talks about the '...heterogeneous clinical…
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Grading and Staging – Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (incorporating WHO 2021 changes)

Grading and Staging – Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (incorporating WHO 2021 changes)

Patient Advocacy
One of the most discussed and sometimes confusing subjects on forums is the staging and grading of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs). Mixing them up is a common error and so it's important to understand the difference despite the apparent complexity.Stage vs GradeIn the most basic of terms, stage is the spread or extent of cancer and grade is the aggressiveness of cancer. They are totally different things and an understanding of both is important as they are critical to predicting outcomes (to a certain extent) and guiding therapy. There is no correlation between the two, you can have the lowest grade with the highest stage (actually very common with NETs).  Remember S for Stage (Spread), G for Grade (Growing fast or slow)The stage is essentially worked out via scans and biopsy,…
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