Prof Timothy Price 

  1. When did you first become interested in treating Neuroendocrine Tumours?

Around March 1998 to be exact. As part of Royal Marsden Fellowship I suddenly was reviewing and treating NET patients as part of the very large GI practice with increasing access to SSA’s, and interestingly mainly somatuline.

  1.  What are some of the greatest challenges in your work?

The biggest challenges are: 

  1. Finding new options once standard therapy has stopped working for what should remain a chronic illness 
  2. Managing the subtle but important symptoms that patients with NETs suffer even when all the “results” look good. 

So trying to maximise QOL and covering for some the ongoing uncertainty of having cancer is a challenge.

  1. What has been some of your most rewarding experiences?

Those patients who respond symptom wise and radiologically/PET to SSA and stay on therapy. And today, then also having other options to offer if the SSA isn’t working well enough. 

  1.  What are your hopes for the Phase 11 trial of PV-10 based on the initial results?

Our aim is to expand the study to Phase 2 with larger numbers and because of its mode of action, ie an immunotherapy type agent, combine with other immunotherapies (anti-PD-1/PD-L1ab) to maximise systemic effect.

  1.  How was the feeling at ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) Annual Meeting?

Regarding the poster, it was very positive. It was quite exciting to have Marianne Pavel seek out the poster and ask lots of questions. Others were interested as well of course and it was a very productive session.

  1. What do you see for the future of NET treatments? Other potential trials?

I think there remain interesting systemic options as well, for eg lenvatinib. Additional understanding of PRRT and chemo combinations are awaited and further investigations of new combinations will be useful. 

Prof Timothy Price MBBS, DHlthSc (Medicine), FRACP