Treatment for neuroendocrine cancer

There are things you can do to help you feel more in control of your health when preparing for treatment. This is called prehabilitation or prehab.

The most common treatment is surgery. Other treatments include somatostatin analogues, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. For some NETs you might not need treatment straight away. Your doctor monitors the cancer with regular tests.

Surgery is the main treatment for neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). You might also have surgery as part of your treatment for a neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC).

Some NETs make large amounts of hormones and cause symptoms. Somatostatin analogues are medicines that reduce and control high hormone levels.

Chemotherapy uses anti cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. It's a common treatment for NECs. Or you might have it for NETs that have spread to other parts of the body.

Targeted cancer drugs can change the way cells work and help the body to control the growth of NETs. Immunotherapy help the immune system attack cancer.

PRRT is a type of radioisotope therapy for some NETs. It uses a radioactive medicine that targets special proteins on the NET’s surface called somatostatin receptors. The medicine attaches to these cells and delivers radiation to destroy them.

Radiotherapy means the use of radiation, usually x-rays, to treat cancer cells. External radiotherapy uses a machine from outside of the body.

Trans arterial embolisation (TAE) is a treatment to the liver. A specialist doctor injects a substance to block the blood supply to a NET in the liver.

Radiofrequency and microwave ablation are both treatments to the liver. They use heat made by radiowaves or microwaves to destroy NET cells in the liver.

You have regular appointments with your doctor or nurse after treatment for neuroendocrine cancer. This is called follow up.