Neuroendocrine Tumor Care

The Rush Approach to Neuroendocrine Tumor Care

Because neuroendocrine tumors are rare and their treatment is complex, it’s important to make sure you have an expert team in your corner. And at Rush, you'll find just that.

When you come to Rush, your expert care team will go over all of your options for neuroendocrine tumor care and work closely with you to develop a comprehensive treatment plan. Your plan will be based not only on the latest research and advances in the field but also on your individual needs — which will remain at the center of everything we do.

When you come to Rush you can expect to get the most advanced care for neuroendocrine tumors. As the first hospital in Illinois to use the 68-Gallium DOTATATE PET CT, we provide the most precise diagnostic test for neuroendocrine tumors — which helps us determine the best treatment for you.

Your treatment may include peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), an innovative treatment for metastatic neuroendocrine tumors that targets cancer cells in multiple places in the body without damaging healthy tissue. We were the first health system in the state to offer PRRT. You may also be a candidate for genetic testing and analysis to help us better understand your tumor and find the best therapies. And, if you need surgery, our surgical oncologists are experts in treating neuroendocrine tumors surgically, using minimally invasive approaches whenever possible.

Rush Excellence in Neuroendocrine Tumor Care

• Genetic counseling: If your neuroendocrine tumors have been linked to hereditary conditions such as multiple endocrine neoplasia, Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1 or tuberous sclerosis, our cancer genetic counselors and specialists can help you determine the next steps.
• Advanced diagnostic technology: The exact location of a neuroendocrine tumor is often hard to pinpoint. Octreotide scans, a traditional method of diagnosis, are only 30 to 70% accurate. But a newer test, 68-Gallium DOTATATE PET CT, can precisely identify tumor location with over 90% accuracy. Rush was the first hospital in Illinois to use it. Today, we're one of the few hospitals in the nation that offer it.
• New treatment options: If you are not a good candidate for surgery to treat your neuroendocrine tumor, we offer other effective options. In fact, Rush was the first hospital in Illinois — and one of the first in the nation — to offer peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, commonly called PRRT. This advanced treatment uses targeted radiation to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or GEP-NETs. It's the most effective therapy available if you have a GEP-NET and aren’t a candidate for surgery.
• Coordinated, multidisciplinary care: Because neuroendocrine tumors are complex, you'll have a team of specialists working together throughout your care. This includes medical oncologists, surgeons, gastroenterologists, diagnostic and interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, pathologists, geneticists and endocrinologists. You'll also have a dedicated team of nurses who are readily available to answer your questions and coordinate your appointments.
• Leaders in precision medicine: In some cases, your care team may recommend genetic testing to further tailor your treatment plan. Our neuroendocrine tumor team works closely with our precision oncology team to analyze your genetic and clinical data, which can help predict how your tumor may respond to targeted treatments. This process can pinpoint the treatments that are likely to be most effective against your specific tumor — including some therapies being tested in innovative clinical trials.