How To Treat Neuroendocrine Tumors

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is another of the most commonly used treatments for cancerous tumors like neuroendocrine tumors. With radiation therapy, x-rays or other high energy rays are used to destroy the cancer cells. A radiation oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating cancer through radiotherapy, administers this treatment. There are a few circumstances in which radiation therapy may be suggested, such as when surgery is impossible or would be quite difficult or risky. It's also often recommended if a tumor has spread to other parts of the body. Radiation treatments are commonly administered through external beams supplied by a machine. Another type of radiotherapy happens internally by using implants. Like chemotherapy, this treatment has a predetermined number of sessions over a predetermined schedule. Potential side effects include mild dermatological reactions, nausea, loose bowel movements, and fatigue. These symptoms tend to subside after the treatment concludes.

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Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy can be used in the treatment of a patient's neuroendocrine tumor. Treatment that works by targeting the tissue environment, proteins, or specific genes of the neuroendocrine tumor is called targeted therapy. This type of therapy is most effective at inhibiting the growth and metastasis of the malignant cells with the ability to reduce damage to healthy cells in the body. Everolimus is a type of targeted treatment therapy often used in individuals with advanced neuroendocrine tumors that affect the digestive tract, pancreas, and lung. Everolimus is known to help inhibit the growth of an individual's neuroendocrine tumor, but it does not actually reduce the size of the tumor. Sunitinib is another type of targeted therapy that utilizes the presence of a protein called VEGF in the malignant cells of a neuroendocrine tumor in a patient's pancreas. Other types of targeted therapy are being tested in clinical trials that target neuroendocrine tumors by intervening in the process of new blood vessel development, or by blocking specific survival pathways of malignant cells.

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