Dr. Iyer on Treatment of Patients With Lung NETs

Renuka Iyer, MD, associate professor of Oncology, co-director, Liver and Pancreas Tumor Center, section chief for Gastrointestinal Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, assistant professor of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, discusses treatment of patients with lung neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

From a disciplinary perspective, gastointestinal (GI) NETs differ from lung NETs, Iyer explains, in that the first condition is treated by medical oncologists versus thoracic oncologists.

Guidelines for treatment of lung NETs are thought to be controversial, as it is recommended to treat lung NETs as small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, the biology of lung NETs closely resemble GI NETS, she adds. In discussing a case study where a patient with a lung NET was treated as SCLC, Iyer explains that their survival outcome was similar to a patient with a GI NETs, which was approximately 4 to 5 years.