Major treatment advance for patients with inoperable neuroendocrine cancers

Patients with inoperable neuroendocrine cancers have potentially been handed a new lifeline, as cancer experts at the 13th Annual Conference of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) for the diagnosis and treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumour Disease in Barcelona welcomed a major treatment advance and called for more European accredited centres of excellence to further improve treatment outcomes for patients.

Phase III results of the netter-1 trial showed that the novel drug Lutetium-dotatate (Lutathera) significantly lowered the risk for disease progression or death among patients with previously treated, advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumours. 

An 80 percent decreased risk for progression or death was seen compared to patients treated with octreotide lar 60 mg. 

In addition to this exciting development, ENETS have established a rigorous quality procedure for the accreditation of Centres of Excellence in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours. 

The programme has proved extremely successful, with 34 centres now accredited and a further three – two in the UK and the first of its kind in Poland – receiving accreditation at the conference. ENETS presented the auditing process to European Parliament in Brussels and it may yet serve as a paradigm for the planned European Reference Networks.