Q2 2025

Dear NETRF Community,
 
I’m writing to share exciting news on behalf of the entire NETRF team. With the release of our 2024 Annual Report, we’ve launched the Breakthroughs Today, Cures Tomorrow campaign, celebrating 20 years of progress and recommitting to a bold vision for the future. Our goal: to fund $25 million in leading-edge research by 2030 to transform diagnosis, develop new treatments, and change lives. This milestone reflects the strength of our community, patients, families, donors, clinicians, and researchers, whose shared commitment continues to drive innovation and impact in neuroendocrine cancer research.
 
This past year, NETRF-funded research delivered powerful insights into neuroendocrine cancer biology, including key findings related to the Wnt pathway, DNA repair, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and high-grade tumor progression. Investigators developed new patient-derived models and tools like ALT-CISH to improve precision medicine approaches. Promising therapies such as the radiopharmaceutical 225Ac-crown-TATE and NET-Smart compounds showed strong preclinical potential, while studies on the microbiome and statins revealed new ways to enhance diagnosis and treatment.
 
On the treatment front, several FDA milestones were achieved: cabozantinib gained approval for advanced NETs, Lutathera expanded to pediatric and first-line use, and a new noninvasive liver tumor treatment, histotripsy, received FDA clearance. AlphaMedix also earned Breakthrough Therapy designation, showing momentum in alpha-based therapies. Three first-in-human clinical trials were also launched, including CAR T-cell therapies targeting CDH17 and IL13Rα2, and a DLK1-targeting antibody-drug conjugate. Preclinical work funded by NETRF helped catalyze the CDH17 trial—an example of how foundational science accelerates clinical innovation.
 
It is now more important than ever that NETRF acts as a lifeline for researchers, so discoveries don't stall, but result in new treatments and cures. We remain committed to fueling discovery through strategic investment and global collaboration. With your continued support, we will raise awareness, grow our community, and drive the next generation of breakthroughs in neuroendocrine cancer.
 
Kind regards,
Anna Greene, PhD
NETRF Director of Research

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) can have a variety of behaviors.  That unpredictability has made it hard for doctors and patients to decide on the best course of action: to monitor or to treat aggressively?

Lung neuroendocrine tumors (lung NETs) make up 20-30% of all NETs, yet their diversity and complexity have long puzzled researchers and clinicians. Now, thanks to cutting-edge research, we’re one step closer to precision medicine that tailors treatments specifically for each patient.

A new clinical trial at the University of Chicago Medicine is evaluating the combination of 177Lu-DOTATATE with fulvestrant in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. 

CAR T-cell therapy for GEP-NETs, now in clinical trial, has been granted Fast Track Designation by the US Food and Drug Administration. NETRF funded the preclinical development of CHM CDH17 by Dr. Xianxin Hua at the University of Pennsylvania. Chimeric Therapeutics, an Australian company, developed the clinical trial.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are complex cancers that can originate in various organs, including the ovaries. While primary ovarian NETs (PON) are uncommon, distinguishing them from neuroendocrine ovarian metastases (NOM) has posed a significant challenge for doctors and researchers alike.

In 2021, NETRF funded Paul Schaffer, PhD, of the University of British Columbia, for a pilot project entitled “Preclinical Toxicity and Therapy Study of 225Ac-crown-TATE.” The study’s outcomes were recently published in the journal Nuclear Medicine and Biology.

In a recent interview with CancerNetwork^®, Dr. Anna Greene, Director of Research at the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF), spotlighted the foundation’s leadership as the world’s largest non-profit funder of neuroendocrine cancer research and the urgent need for increased funding and researcher engagement.

As the Director of Research at the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF), I’ve dedicated my career to advancing science that gives patients and families more time, options, and hope. But last September, that mission took on a profound new urgency when I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. In an instant, I found myself depending on the very system of funded science we’ve worked for years to strengthen.

In a breakthrough for those with advanced pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (Pheo/Para), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved WELIREG® (belzutifan) as a treatment for adult and pediatric patients (12 years and older) with metastatic or inoperable tumors. The drug is the only oral therapy available for these patients.

A new global clinical trial is evaluating the investigational drug FORE8394 (plixorafenib) for treatment of neuroendocrine carcinomas with BRAF V600E-mutations. The phase 2 study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of plixorafenib in participants with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, or with rare BRAF V600-mutated solid tumors, melanoma, thyroid, or recurrent primary CNS tumors.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved cabozantinib for the treatment of previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) and extra-pancreatic NET (epNET), in adults and children over the age of 12. The drug, called CABOMETYX, was tested in the pivotal CABINET trial. It is produced by Exelixis, Inc.

The investigational therapy ITM-11 has shown promising results in the Phase 3 COMPETE trial for patients with inoperable, progressive Grade 1 and Grade 2 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

Model systems—whether in vitro (cell lines), ex vivo (organoids), or in vivo (animal models)—are essential for understanding neuroendocrine cancer biology and testing new therapies. However, modeling neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in the laboratory has historically been challenging. Unlike many fast-growing cancers, NETs are often slow-growing and genetically diverse, making them difficult to study with traditional models. 

Endocrine-Related Cancer is a peer-reviewed journal publishing basic laboratory, translational and clinical investigations of human health and disease focusing on endocrine neoplasias and hormone-dependent cancers, and review articles in these areas. Endocrine-Related Cancer is an official journal of the Society for Endocrinology and is endorsed by the Endocrine Society of Australia, the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society and the Japanese Hormone and Cancer Society.

Endocrine Oncology is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal publishing basic, translational and clinical research and reviews on the interplay between hormones and cancer, and related topics. With Bioscientifica sponsoring the Article Publishing Charge during the launch phase, authors can publish for free for a limited time.

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The mission of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation is to fund research to discover cures and more effective treatments for neuroendocrine cancer. NETRF is the largest global funder of neuroendocrine cancer research and a preeminent resource for expert patient education and support.



NETRF is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.