Experts Struggle to Agree on How to Measure Whether PRRT Cancer Treatment Is Working

ENETS expert survey reveals major gaps and disagreements in how to assess response to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumors.

Prasad, Vikas et al.·Journal of neuroendocrinology·2025·Moderate Evidenceconsensus-statement
RPEP-13106Consensus StatementModerate Evidence2025RETHINKTHC RESEARCH DATABASErethinkthc.com/research

Quick Facts

Study Type
consensus-statement
Evidence
Moderate Evidence
Sample
N=N/A (expert survey)
Participants
ENETS Advisory Board members (neuroendocrine tumor specialists)

What This Study Found

Expert survey revealed significant variability and unmet needs in PRRT response assessment, with no consensus on standardized criteria.

Key Numbers

70% of Advisory Board responded; 81% from ENETS Centers of Excellence; 13 questions; 46% achieved >75% agreement; 39% achieved >60% agreement.

How They Did This

Statement-based survey of ENETS Advisory Board members (70% response rate) with 13 questions and substatements.

Why This Research Matters

Without standardized response criteria, clinicians cannot reliably compare PRRT outcomes across centers or decide when to stop or modify treatment.

The Bigger Picture

Standardizing PRRT response assessment would improve clinical trials, enable better comparisons, and ultimately improve patient care.

What This Study Doesn't Tell Us

Expert survey — reflects opinions rather than evidence. Response criteria have not yet been validated prospectively.

Questions This Raises

  • ?Should functional imaging replace morphological criteria for PRRT response?
  • ?Can molecular markers complement imaging for earlier response assessment?

Trust & Context

Key Stat:
70% response ENETS Advisory Board survey on PRRT response assessment practices and unmet needs
Evidence Grade:
Expert consensus survey — captures current practice variability but does not provide validated criteria.
Study Age:
Published in 2025 from the 2022 ENETS meeting, reflecting ongoing efforts to standardize PRRT assessment.
Original Title:
Challenges in developing response evaluation criteria for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy: A consensus report from the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Advisory Board Meeting 2022 and the ENETS Theranostics Task Force.
Published In:
Journal of neuroendocrinology, 37(2), e13479 (2025)
Database ID:
RPEP-13106

Evidence Hierarchy

Meta-Analysis / Systematic Review
Randomized Controlled Trial
Cohort / Case-Control
Cross-Sectional / ObservationalSnapshot without intervening
This study
Case Report / Animal Study
What do these levels mean? →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do doctors know if PRRT is working?

This is actually a major challenge — tumors may not shrink immediately after PRRT, and current measurement criteria were designed for other treatments.

Why are standardized criteria important?

Without agreed-upon measures, different hospitals may reach different conclusions about whether treatment is working, affecting patient care decisions.

Read More on RethinkPeptides

Cite This Study

RPEP-13106·https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-13106

APA

Prasad, Vikas; Koumarianou, Anna; Denecke, Timm; Sundin, Anders; Deroose, Christophe M; Pavel, Marianne; Christ, Emanuel; Lamarca, Angela; Caplin, Martyn; Castaño, Justo P; Dromain, Clarisse; Falconi, Massimo; Grozinsky-Glasberg, Simona; Hofland, Johannes; Knigge, Ulrich Peter; Kos-Kudla, Beata; Krishna, Balkundi A; Reed, Nicholas Simon; Scarpa, Aldo; Srirajaskanthan, Rajaventhan; Toumpanakis, Christos; Kjaer, Andreas; Hicks, Rodney J; Ambrosini, Valentina. (2025). Challenges in developing response evaluation criteria for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy: A consensus report from the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Advisory Board Meeting 2022 and the ENETS Theranostics Task Force.. Journal of neuroendocrinology, 37(2), e13479. https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.13479

MLA

Prasad, Vikas, et al. "Challenges in developing response evaluation criteria for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy: A consensus report from the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Advisory Board Meeting 2022 and the ENETS Theranostics Task Force.." Journal of neuroendocrinology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.13479

RethinkPeptides

RethinkPeptides Research Database. "Challenges in developing response evaluation criteria for pe..." RPEP-13106. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/prasad-2025-challenges-in-developing-response

Access the Original Study

Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.