Radioligand therapy (RLT) as neoadjuvant treatment for inoperable pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: a literature review

In the last 10 years, several literature reports supported radioligand therapy (RLT) in neoadjuvant settings for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs). Indeed, primary tumor shrinkage has been frequently reported following RLT in unresectable or borderline resectable PanNETs. Moreover, RLT-induced intratumoral modifications facilitate surgery, both on primary tumor and metastasis, having a great impact on progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL). However, prospective controlled investigations are necessary to confirm preliminary data and to define the best RLT scheme and the ideal patient that, in a multidisciplinary approach, should be referred to neoadjuvant RLT.