Active Surveillance May Benefit Certain Patients With Small Nonfunctional Pancreatic NETs
Abstract. Results from a retrospective review demonstrated significant increases in the use of observation in patients with small nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-pNETs) from 2015 to 2020, as published in JAMA Surgery. Researchers also found that patients seen at academic centers were more likely to undergo observation compared with those seen at nonacademic centers.Currently, experts are uncertain of the metastatic potential of NF-pNETs, and the potential morbidity linked with pancreatic surgery, as noted in the study. This may be associated with patients opting for surgery vs active surveillance, although recent guidelines endorse the use of active surveillance backed by retrospective data.The…
2024 Update from Ronny Allan: Reassuringly stable!
In every surveillance session I’ve had since diagnosis, there was always something to report. Much of it was old stuff that had been there since diagnosis which they are tracking (incidental findings). However, there is also stuff that they know is almost certainly NET but not doing much and not threatening me. That sentence alone probably translates to “stable“. After a surveillance event in 2021, I was awarded the accolade of “reassuringly stable“, a status which I was happy to accept! In 2022, despite evidence of disease, I was stable! In 2023, I was given the headline of "No evidence…
NET Specialists, Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) and Centres of Excellence
NET Specialists, Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) and Centres of Excellence - a summary from Ronny AllanWhat is a NET Specialist?"What is a NET Specialist" is a frequently asked question but there's no official definition of what constitutes a "NET Specialist", and it may differ from country to country/from region to region. Similarly, many people ask what makes a doctor an expert and that is a difficult question but let's just say specialist and expert are the same thing given there is no exam or special qualification to become one. In the broadest sense, a NET Specialist is a doctor who is not…
All you need to know about Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT Scans for Neuroendocrine Tumours
Cancer is a growth industry ...literally! More people are being diagnosed than ever before. Fortunately, more people are surviving than ever before. This is against a backdrop of better awareness, better screening in the big population cancers, and to a certain extent better diagnostic tools, all of which is leading to earlier diagnosis. So how does this affect Neuroendocrine Cancer? According to the latest SEER database figures for Neuroendocrine Cancer, one reason for the 7 fold increase in incidence rates since the 1970s is all of those things above including better diagnostics. This has led to a revised set of…
Neuroendocrine Cancer – surveillance and follow up
Since 2010 I've had a lot of surveillance and testing. More than people can imagine. I can see from various comments on my public pages and posts within my private group, that some people get a lot more than me and I get more than others. It's not true to say we all get the same, there are many factors including stage, grade, type of Neuroendocrine Neoplasm, healthcare system/guidelines, miscellaneous problems, therapy, and even age.In the first year or two after diagnosis, I seemed to be in a continuous testing phase but that was mainly due to seeing so many…