Andrew E. Hendifar, MD, medical oncology lead for the Gastrointestinal Disease Research Group, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the future treatment landscape for patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

The change in the treatment of NETs has been quite substantial over the last 5 years, explains Hendifar. However, there has been an immense number of breakthroughs in the last several years, and new treatments have been developed.

There are many types of treatments, such as peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy, targeted treatments, and new somatostatin analog treatments. According to Henfidar, there are things that we can do to help patients, and it seems like we are getting closer to achieving a better understanding of how to sequence treatments.

There are still remaining questions that need to be answered in the future, explains Hendifar. When does a patient need to see a multidisciplinary tumor team? When is the optimal time of surgery? Sequencing and synthesis of care, and putting these great new discoveries together in a certain treatment paradigm, is what physicians are going to be working on in the next few years.

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Dr. Hendifar Discusses the Future Treatment of NETs

Andrew E. Hendifar, MD, medical oncology lead for the Gastrointestinal Disease Research Group, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses a 92-gene assay of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

This 92-gene assay is a molecular classification of NETs, says Hendifar. The original validation set looked at over 2,000 tumors and sequenced over 22,000 genes to create this reference set of 92 genes.

Hendifar says this assay was done in an effort to better understand and characterize NETs that are diagnosed as an unknown primary.

Dr. Hendifar Discusses a 92-Gene Assay of NETs

Andrew E. Hendifar, MD, medical oncology lead for the Gastrointestinal Disease Research Group, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the current treatment landscape in pancreas cancer.

Pancreas cancer treatment is changing, say Hendifar, and the disease is treatable with combination chemotherapy.

Additionally, the community is beginning to understand the different subtypes of this disease, including BRCA and microsatellite instable. Stromal targeting therapies also look promising.

Dr. Hendifar on the Current Treatment Landscape in Pancreas Cancer

Andrew E. Hendifar, MD, medical oncology lead for the Gastrointestinal Disease Research Group, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses HALO-202 in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

HALO-202 is phase II study that randomized previously untreated patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma to PEGPH20 in addition to standard gemcitabine and abraxane versus standard gemcitabine and abraxane alone.

View more from the 2017 World Congress on GI Cancer

Andrew E. Hendifar, MD

Articles

Dr. Hendifar Discusses the Future Treatment of NETs

Dr. Hendifar Discusses a 92-Gene Assay of NETs

Dr. Hendifar on the Current Treatment Landscape in Pancreas Cancer

Dr. Hendifar on the HALO-202 Study in Metastatic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma