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How to Select Patients Affected by Neuroendocrine Neoplasms for Surgery

  • Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NS Reed, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The aim of this review was to discuss how to select patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP-NENs) for surgery.

Recent Findings

Surgical resection represents the mainstay for the curative treatment of GEP-NENs. Conservative strategies, such as endoscopic resection and active surveillance, have been recently advocated for the management of patients with small and asymptomatic GEP-NENs. On the other hand, patients with GEP-NENs showing features of aggressiveness should be managed by surgical resection with lymphadenectomy, when the surgical risk is considered acceptable. An accurate selection is important also in the setting of advanced disease, where surgery can provide a survival benefit in the context of a multimodal treatment strategy.

Summary

Surgical and oncological risk should be always assessed in order to define indications for surgery in patients with GEP-NENs. Given the variety of available treatment options, surgical indication should be always shared with a dedicated multidisciplinary team.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Gioja Bianca Costanza Fund for supporting the PhD Scholarship of Dr. Valentina Andreasi and the Research Fellowship of Dr. Francesca Muffatti. The authors thank the ERN EURACAN initiative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pancreatic Surgery Unit, Pancreas Translational & Clinical Research Center, OSR ENETS Center of Excellence, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy

    Francesca Fermi, Valentina Andreasi, Francesca Muffatti, Stefano Crippa, Domenico Tamburrino, Stefano Partelli & Massimo Falconi

  2. Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy

    Valentina Andreasi, Stefano Crippa, Stefano Partelli & Massimo Falconi

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  1. Francesca Fermi
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Francesca Fermi and Valentina Andreasi share the first authorship. Stefano Partelli and Massimo Falconi share the senior authorship.

This article is part of the Topical collection on Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

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Fermi, F., Andreasi, V., Muffatti, F. et al. How to Select Patients Affected by Neuroendocrine Neoplasms for Surgery. Curr Oncol Rep 24, 227–239 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-022-01200-8

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