The Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF) is the leading private funder of research into causes and treatments of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) to improve and extend the lives of those living with NETs.
NETRF in collaboration with NANETS awarded the 2017 Basic Translational Science Investigator grant to Brian R. Untch, M.D., at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for his proposal, “Enhancing Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy in Well-Differentiated Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.”
There is a critical need to develop improved diagnostic tools for non-invasive, early detection of NETs in a broader range of patients. New grant-funded research will work towards this goal.
He is a pioneer whose work has helped extend the horizon of cancer care, creating a new category of individualized immunotherapy. Carl June, MD, has conducted 25 years of scientific research to advance CAR T-cell therapy. And all that knowledge is now helping to tackle NETs.
Imagine being able to program your immune system to launch one million minuscule heat-seeking missiles, whose sole purpose is to find and kill cancer cells. This is the basic premise behind an emerging form of immunotherapy, called CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies an individual’s immune system to find, bind to, and kill cancer cells.
The September issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine features a research study and perspective article in support of an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of 68Ga DOTATOC PET/CT, another new imaging agent to assess NETs in scans. Authors found 68Ga DOTATOC superior to decades-old methods for disease staging, treatment planning, and identifying unknown primary sites.
It can be difficult to biopsy tissue from pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) for genomic profiling. To help create safe and non-invasive tests for genomic mutations before, during, and after treatment in PNET patients, NETRF is funding researchers that are testing a novel alternative known as a “liquid biopsy.”
Sharon Gorski, PhD, Genome Sciences Centre, Canada, has recently been awarded a two-year Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF)–American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) grant to use a new method of proteogenomic analysis on pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs).
Laura Banaszynski, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – Laura Banaszynski, PhD, has always been passionate about science. After training as a chemical biologist, her innate curiosity pushed her to explore the mysteries of cells as a basic researcher.
Growing small intestinal organoids in a petri dish. Sequencing the “runaway” DNA of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor from a blood sample. Evaluating whether environmental or infectious agents contribute to the development of NETs. The research programs funded by NETRF this year push the search for the causes of this disease to the horizon of emerging scientific research.
(April 25, 2017, Boston, MA)—The Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF) today announced its largest research commitment ever—$4 million in collaborative grants—most from its new Accelerator