Targeted Therapy for Neuroendocrine Cancer – Everolimus (Afinitor)

Targeted Therapy for Neuroendocrine Cancer – Everolimus (Afinitor)

Clinical Trials and Research, Treatment
Click picture to read the A to Z of Neuroendocrine Cancer What is Everolimus (Afinitor)? Manufactured by Novartis, this is a targeted biological therapy or more accurately, a mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor. It works by stopping some of the signals within cells that make them grow and divide. Everolimus stops a particular protein called mTOR from working properly. mTOR controls other proteins that trigger cancer cells to grow. So everolimus helps to stop the cancer growing or may slow it down.  The drug is also approved for Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) and hormone-receptor-positive advanced Breast Cancer.The drug is administered in oral form (tablet). The recommended dose for AFINITOR® (everolimus) Tablets is one 10-mg tablet once daily but lower doses of 7.5-mg tablets, 5-mg tablets, and 2.5-mg tablets are…
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Surufatinib for Neuroendocrine Cancer

Surufatinib for Neuroendocrine Cancer

Clinical Trials and Research, Treatment
UPDATE 2nd May 2022. US FDA did not approve. Commentary from Healthcare New company Global Data. "On 2 May, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected HUTCHMED’s new drug application (NDA) for its lead candidate, Sulanda (surufatinib), for the treatment of advanced neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). Issues pertaining to trial populations were raised in a complete response letter (CRL) and GlobalData expects this case to have wide implications for the whole field of oncology therapeutics. China-based HUTCHMED received approval for its multi-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor Sulanda in China for the treatment of pancreatic and extra-pancreatic NETs in June last year and December 2020, respectively. Following the submission to Chinese authorities, NDAs were also submitted to the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA). Two large Phase III studies formed the basis…
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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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