FDA approves Lutathera for treating Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (PNETS)

29 January 2018 | News

Lutathera takes treatment a step further by selectively delivering radiotherapy to the PNETs using a somatostatin analog.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) declared that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) just approved Lutathera®.

Lutathera is a medication effective for somatostatin receptor-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). 

While the FDA has already approved similar drugs for neuroendocrine tumor patients in the United States, Lutathera takes treatment a step further by selectively delivering radiotherapy to the PNETs using a somatostatin analog. 

Patients who were treated with Lutathera in the phase III clinical trial had a 79 percent reduction in risk of disease progression or death, as compared to patients treated with the standard of care. 

PNETs make up about 6 percent of all pancreatic cancer diagnoses, and the majority of cases express somatostatin receptors.

It's important to note that Lutathera has not been approved for, nor shown to be effective in, patients with the more common form of pancreatic cancer, adenocarcinoma. 

Every treatment available today was approved through a clinical trial. PanCAN strongly recommends clinical trials at diagnosis and during every treatment decision.

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