Dr. Kennecke on Suggested Multidisciplinary Actions for GEP-NETs

Hagen F. Kennecke, MD, MHA, FRCPC, a medical oncologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center, discusses multidisciplinary interactions within Virginia Mason Medical Center for patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

At a weekly tumor board, Kennecke will present a patient’s history, provide their background, and sequentially review pathology. Pathology must be analyzed to ensure the tumor grade is assessed with Ki-67 differentiation. After, imaging is conducted and repeat imaging is ordered if multi-phase CT scans are not completed, says Kennecke.

Then, the Gallium-68 dotatate (Netspot) PET/CT scan is reviewed and a Krenning score is assigned to all patients, grading to tumors from 0 to 4, according to Kennecke. From this evaluation of the patient, the tumor board decides what the best strategy is before discussing with the patients, he concludes.