NET TEAM Bologna – ENETS Center of Excellence for the diagnosis and cure of neuroendocrine tumors

Research areas

The NET TEAM Bologna is dedicated to the study and cure of neuroendocrine tumors in their entirety, including tumors originating in the gastro-enteric-pancreatic tract, whether pulmonary or not, and those which are poorly differentiated. Our group has all the key members involved in the course of treatment of patients with neuroendocrine tumors—from the pathological and molecular diagnosis to the instrumental diagnosis (radiological and functional), and the treatment, be it surgical, medical, interventional, or TRRP.

Specifically, the current research projects involve in-depth analysis of the biological and clinical characteristics of the various neuroendocrine tumors, in order to identify therapeutic strategies and treatment patterns that can be applied to diverse areas. The analyses involve functional and genomic imaging of the tumors, which also provides an opportunity for their pathological characterization, permitting the application of personalized courses of treatment for the individual patient.

The research projects cover many varied areas of neuroendocrine tumors, including:

• Gastro-enteric-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
• Pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors (typical and atypical carcinoid tumors)
• Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and large cell neuroendocrine cancer (LCNEC)
• Poorly differentiated, extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas
• Merkel cell carcinomas of the skin

Research projects

The group is involved in many ongoing research projects, including the the coordination of retrospective and prospective data collection in many centers in Italy and the conduction of experimental, interventional clinical trials, both national (as advisors) and international.

Collaborators:

Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiology:

Valentina Ambrosini, team member;

Cristina Mosconi, team member.

Pathologists and molecular biologists:

Debora Malvi, team member;

Donatella Santini, team member;

Francesca Giunchi, team member;

Elisa Gruppioni, team member;

Annalisa Altimari, team member.