title: Therapy innovations: tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
abstract: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) show limited sensitivity to cytotoxic agents, requiring the search for novel therapies. Recently, data from a phase III trial demonstrated that sunitinib produces a clinically significant improvement in progression-free survival in patients with unresectable, advanced, or metastatic GEP-NETs. Based on this finding, sunitinib became the first targeted drug approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs, paving the way for the approval of other anticancer agents in this drug-orphan disease. To date, results of trials involving other multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as sorafenib, the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab, and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor inhibitors, have also shown promising results, and some are already being studied in phase III trials. This review updates the results of ongoing trials using inhibitors of growth factors and tyrosine kinase receptors involved in the carcinogenesis of GEP-NETs.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Beaujon University Hospital, INSERM U728, APHP, Paris 7 University, 100 bd du Général Leclerc, 92880, Clichy, France. eric.raymond@bjn.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hobday
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reidy-Lagunes
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-Carbonero
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carrato
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D053380:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 15 / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; C117026:TNFSF15 protein, human; D053380:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 15; D017526:Receptor, IGF Type 1