Advancements in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) have increased in incidence in the USA over the last 20 years. Although PanNETs are often misconceived as being indolent tumors as they have a far more favorable prognosis over pancreatic adenocarcinoma, roughly 60-70% of patients have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis due to presentation late in the disease process. While improvements in imaging modalities allow for early detection and better tumor localization, recent advancements in basic science, as well as surgical and medical management of PanNETs have further improved the prognosis. The mainstay of therapy for localized PanNETs is surgical intervention, which has become safer and is slowly shifting towards a more minimally invasive approach. However, the prognosis still remains relatively bleak for patients with unresectable disease. Fortunately, novel molecular targeted therapies, such as everolimus and sunitinib, have recently come into the limelight and have shown significant promise for the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic disease.