Neuroendocrine Neoplasia's (NENs)

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), better defined as neoplasms (NENs), are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that range from well-differentiated tumours to more aggressive carcinomas. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with Lutetium-177 DOTATATE is the established standard of care for patients with well-differentiated metastatic or locally advanced GEP-NETs. It has demonstrated a significant improvement in outcomes compared to Octreotide LAR, both as a first-line and second-line treatment approach, following the results of NETTER-1 and NETTER-2 trials, respectively. ENETS guidelines recommend the use of Ga-68 labeled DOTANOC/TOC/TATAE imaging only for WHO Grade 1 NET whereas FDG PET is the preferred modality for WHO Grade 3 NEN and NEC. For Grade 2 tumors (Mib index ranging from 3-20%), there are no strong recommendations for the addition of FDG PETCT in existing diagnostic algorithm. FDG PET positivity has been shown to be an independent predictor of shorter progression-free and overall survival in NET patients undergoing peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). (8) Consequently, it is imperative to address FDG-avid tumors by integrating PRRT and chemotherapy. There are no strong recommendations for the grade wise management of GEP-NETs particularly grade 2 \& 3. Although recently published NETTER 2 trial substantiated the role of PRRT as a first line treatment for advanced grade GEP-NETs, still there is lack of evidence supporting the addition of chemotherapy in management of GEP-NETs. Given the absence of a prospective study to establish this treatment regimen, we designed a Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial to evaluate the combination of PRRT and CAPE-TEM-based chemotherapy in patients with FDG-positive metastatic well-differentiated NETs.