Promising treatment for carcinoid tumors

This article reviewed the medical literature about the mTOR protein and the potential treatment of carcinoid tumors using mTOR inhibitors.  

mTOR is a protein responsible for cell growth, proliferation and cell survival. A dysfunctional mTOR protein has been found in many types of cancer. Among these types of cancer are neuroendocrine tumors (NET) which arise from the endocrine and nervous systems. NET can range from benign to malignant (cancerous) and are usually found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and lungs. These tumors are also called carcinoid tumors, meaning that they grow slowly, with potential to progress from benign to cancerous and to spread to other tissues of the body (metastasize). Currently, there are no efficient therapies that will cause tumor regression (improvement or cure of the disease) in NET patients. Drugs like octreotide (Sandostatin) are used in NET to relieve carcinoid symptoms. Inhibiting the action of a dysfunctional mTOR protein can have a potential benefit as an anti-cancer treatment. Everolimus (Afinitor) is the name of an mTOR inhibiting drug which has been used in several anti-cancer treatments and is still being investigated for its efficacy.

This research reviewed several studies that evaluate the efficacy of everolimus for the treatment of NET patients. In one trial, a combination of everolimus and octreotide was given to 60 patients with NET. 70% of the patients showed stabilization of the disease (meaning not cured but also not progressed cancer), 22% showed some improvement and only 8% had disease progression (worsening of their condition). Another trial that included 429 patients with advanced NET showed that everolimus plus octreotide was associated with a 5.1 months increase in progression-free survival (the time patients survived without the cancer advancing) compared to octreotide alone. 

In summary, everolimus shows promising results for the treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

More information is needed about the efficacy of mTOR inhibitors in NET. For now, everolimus is only approved for pancreatic NET. However, numerous clinical trials are still ongoing investigating the efficacy and safety of mTOR inhibitors for other carcinoid tumors. 

Consult with your doctor about treatment with mTOR inhibitors.