What is the current status of research of neuro-endocrine tumors? by Connie b. Dellobuono
Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:
1. Breaktroughs [drugs, imaging, chemo/radiation] from Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation
https://netrf.org/category/breakthroughs-from-the-field/
2. Neuroendocrine tumors in pets.
Neuroendocrine tumors are small masses that usually develop in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, or gall bladder. They are slow-growing, but typically metastasize
Symptoms of a neuroendocrine tumor depend on the location and size of the tumor, and may include loss of appetite, vomiting, constipation, and weight loss
There is no cure for this type of cancer unless the tumor can be completely removed with surgery. Alternative therapies often offer the best option for maintaining a pet’s quality of life
Medicinal mushrooms: In a published study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, dogs with hemangiosarcoma – an aggressive, malignant cancer that develops in the cells of blood vessels – were given a compound derived from a type of mushroom, Coriolus versicolor.
According to researchers, the patients given this compound had the longest survival times ever reported for dogs with this form of cancer. This is promising news, as this mushroom compound could offer an alternative to chemotherapy or a complementary treatment to traditional cancer therapies for dogs and people.
Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture: Dr. Betsy Hershey is a board-certified veterinary oncologist and owner of Integrative Veterinary Oncology in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Hershey is also certified in veterinary acupuncture and has received extensive training in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine.
Dr. Hershey routinely incorporates Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture, along with good nutrition, in her protocols for cancer patients. She is seeing dogs live longer with cancer when they receive complementary therapies in addition to chemotherapy. She is seeing years of remission time in these dogs, where chemotherapy alone only offers, on average, a year of remission and survival time.
Ozone therapy: Ozone therapy as a treatment for cancer is based on a very simple concept: Healthy cells thrive on oxygen. By contrast, the microbes that cause diseases like cancer are typically anaerobic, meaning they thrive in the absence of air or free oxygen. Total immersion of anaerobic life forms, like those that cause cancer, in an energetic form of pure oxygen (ozone) for a sufficient period of time has the ability to extinguish these disease-causing microbes.
There are many methods of administering ozone, however, it is primarily used in an IV fluid solution. It can also be used topically.
3. Clinical trials at Stanford: [imaging for early detection]
http://med.stanford.edu/clinicaltrials/trials/search?keyword=Neuroendocrine+Tumors&cId=29
4. Treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors may include a combination of surgery, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Surgery
Surgical removal of the tumor is considered the most effective treatment for islet cell tumors. Tumors that have not spread beyond the pancreas (localized tumors) may be removed along with a small portion of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. This procedure is much less extensive than the type of surgery used to treat adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
Hormone Therapy
Patients with functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors that cannot be surgically removed may benefit from monthly injections of octreotide, a synthetic hormone that controls hormone-related symptoms and may have the potential to slow tumor growth.
Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is usually reserved for patients whose pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors begin to grow during treatment with octreotide, or if a patient has symptoms from the tumor that are not well controlled by octreotide. In addition, chemotherapy may be used to treat tumors that contain fast-growing (undifferentiated) cells.
External-beam radiation therapy, which delivers radiation from a machine outside of the body, is typically only used to treat patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors that are causing symptoms such as pain, particularly when they have metastasized to the bone.
MIBG Radiolabeled Therapy
Some pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors absorb a hormone called norepinephrine. These tumors may respond to a nuclear medicine technique called MIBG radiolabeled therapy. In this treatment, the patient is given an intravenous dose of MIBG, a protein that is similar to norepinephrine and is attached to a radioactive substance. The MIBG is absorbed by the tumor, permitting the radioactive substance to selectively destroy tumor cells.
Investigational Approaches
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering are exploring new treatment approaches using a mouse model that exhibits pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. This model will be used to conduct early-stage testing of new drug therapies and targeted antibody-based treatments. The pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor model also will be used to test a new class of drugs that may have the potential to block the production of a protein called cathepsin proteases, which are thought to promote the growth of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
What is the current status of research of neuro-endocrine tumors?
