Dr. Eads Discusses the Classification of Gastrointestinal NETs

Jennifer Eads, MD, assistant professor, senior clinical instructor, department of medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, discusses the classification of gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

The current classification scheme for GI NETs involves using the tumor histology, the Ki-67, and the mitotic index, as parameters for placing a tumor and guiding treatment, says Eads.

Pathological and clinical studies have indicated that the most important determinate of aggressiveness is the tumor differentiation status, Eads explains. This will place the patient’s tumor in the less aggressive or more aggressive G3 category. Patients with poorly-differentiated and higher Ki-67 tumors are placed in the higher category and don’t do as well, with a poor median overall survival of under a year. As for the well-differentiated category, these patients usually have a higher median overall survival and response to therapy, says Eads.