Neuroendocrine cancers

Research and clinical trials for neuroendocrine cancer

Researchers around the world are looking at improving the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine cancer.

Go to Cancer Research UK's clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for neuroendocrine cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.

Find a clinical trial

Research and clinical trials

All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:

they work
they work better than the treatments already available
they are safe

To make sure the research is accurate, each trial has certain entry conditions for who can take part. These are different for each trial.

Hospitals do not take part in every clinical trial. Some trials are only done in a small number of hospitals, or in one area of the country. You may need to travel quite far if you take part in these trials.

Some of the trials on this page have now stopped recruiting people. It takes time before the results are available. This is because the trial team follow the patients for a period of time and collect and analyse the results. We have included this ongoing research to give examples of the type of research being carried out in neuroendocrine cancer.

Research into diagnosis

Doctors are always looking for better ways to diagnose people with cancer.

Researchers are taking blood, urine and tissue samples from people with symptoms that could be due to cancers in the pancreas. This includes pancreatic neuroendocrine cancers. They are looking for certain . And they want to find out why some people are more likely to develop cancer than others.

Research into treatment

Researchers want to improve treatment for people with neuroendocrine cancer.

Targeted drugs and immunotherapy drugs

Targeted drugs change the way that cells work. For example, they can block signals that tell cells to grow. Immunotherapies can boost the body’s own immune system to fight off or kill cancer cells.

There are different types of targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapies. Researchers are looking at different drugs for fast growing (high grade) neuroendocrine cancer. These include:

pembrolizumab
lenvatinib

Researchers are looking at these drugs with the chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and etoposide. Pembrolizumab and lenvatinib are already treatments for some other types of cancer. But not yet neuroendocrine cancer. And not with each other or with carboplatin and etoposide.

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT)

PRRT is a type of radioisotope therapy. These treatments use medicines to treat cancer. You have the radioactive substance as a drip into a vein.

Researchers are looking at:

how well PRRT helps people with ) that have spread to other parts of the body and who can't have surgery
how well PRRT helps people after surgery to remove cancer from the liver
giving a drug before PRRT to see if it makes it work better for some people with NETs that have spread

Research into the quality of life

Doctors are looking at how the treatment and illness affect people with neuroendocrine cancer. These are called quality of life studies.

One study is looking at how a mobile application ( ) might help with recording symptoms and side effects of treatment. Researchers want to see if using this type of technology can improve quality of life for people with neuroendocrine cancer.

Before you take part

Find out about what researchers should tell you before you agree to take part in a trial

Cancer Research UK information nurses

For support and information, you can call the Cancer Research UK information nurses. They can give advice about who can help you and what kind of support is available. Freephone: 0808 800 4040 - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Last reviewed: 05 Mar 2025

Next review due: 05 Mar 2028

What are clinical trials?

Clinical trials are medical research studies involving people. They help us to understand more about cancer and how we treat it.

Choose your type of neuroendocrine cancer

There are many different types of neuroendocrine cancer. They are usually named after the part of the body where they develop.

Living with neuroendocrine cancer

Practical and emotional support is available to help you cope with neuroendocrine cancer.

What are neuroendocrine cancers?

Neuroendocrine cancers are also called neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). There are 2 key groups - neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs).

Treatment for neuroendocrine cancer

Treatment depends on the type of neuroendocrine cancer you have, where it is, its size and whether it has spread (the stage).

Stages and grades of neuroendocrine cancer

A pathologist reports how abnormal the cancer cells look (differentiation) and how quickly they are growing (grading). Your stage is the size of the cancer and whether it has spread.