Introduction:
Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are uncommon neoplasms that arise from the cells of endocrine and neural origin. They are heterogeneous in nature and showcase a range of biological activity. High grade tumors, known as Neuroendocrine Carcinomas (NECs) are rare and aggressive cancers that are generally rapidly fatal. Early diagnosis of the disease will require the identification of reliable biomarkers. This project is part of the randomised clinical trial (NABNEC) of Nanoparticle Albumin Bound Paclitaxel (NAB-Paclitaxel) with carboplatin in Gastrointestinal NECs aiming to understand markers characteristic of NECs that have not been extensively studied.
Methods:
Markers of differentiation, proliferation, cell adhesion and metastasis were selected from literature. Expression profile of these markers at mRNA and protein levels were conducted on 2 tissue samples of pancreatic and small intestine origin, using Real time PCR and immunohistochemistry. The expression level of the markers in the tumor were studied in comparison to the control samples from each patient. This will be extended to NEC specimens from several national biobanks and NABNEC patients and later the expression profile correlated with clinical endpoints.
Progress:
Based on the expression profile of the pancreatic and small intestine samples, markers of differentiation like CD31, CD44 showed significant increase in expression in the tumor samples compared to normal. Also, some markers like laminin, synaptophysin, CK7 and CK20 showed difference in expression levels between tumor samples of different origin. Changes in the levels of expression of these markers will be correlated with clinical data.
Conclusion:
This study will improve diagnostic procedures to better reflect the heterogeneity of the disease. It will also provide information about the cell biology of neuroendocrine tumors. Extending this study to a larger cohort will lead to a more population relevant conclusion.