Is PRRT Right For You?

 


How do doctors determine that PRRT should be the treatment of choice for a neuroendocrine tumour?

PRRT or Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy is a molecular therapy that is one of the accepted modes of treatment for Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs).

Before we go on to discuss the above topic at hand, let me explain PRRT. In PRRT, a radiopeptide is created by combining a small amount of radioactive material or radionuclide (Yttrium-90 or Y-90 and Lutetium-177 or Lu-77) with a cell-targeting protein. This radiopeptide, when injected into a neuroendocrine tumour patient’s bloodstream, travels and binds itself to the neuroendocrine tumour cells to deliver a high dose of radiation that targets only the cancer cells.

Also Read: How Does a Typical PRRT Day look like?

Doctors recommend PRRT for patients diagnosed with Advanced Metastatic or Progressive Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs); also for NET patients who are ineligible for surgery; and also for those NET patients who are unresponsive to other modes of treatment. While, PRRT is a palliative treatment, it does help in alleviating the symptoms, slow or in some cases even stop the tumour progression thereby improving not only the quality of life, but also the survival rate.

Now, the questions that most NET patients ask the doctors is –

“How do you determine whether PRRT is the recommended mode of treatment for my condition?”

 

The doctor’s decision to treat an NET patient with PRRT depends on the following parameters:

1.      The origin of the tumour

2.      The aggressiveness and proliferation of the tumour

3.      The progression or stability of the tumour – how aggressive it is growing?

4.      And, the most important point of consideration for the doctors is whether the tumour is expressing the receptors that is used to target PRRT.

Read more at: Is PRRT Right For You

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