The short answer
Neuroendocrine tumor treatment depends on location, whether it is functioning, and its grade. Surgery is used when possible. Somatostatin analog drugs like octreotide can control hormone symptoms and may also help slow tumor growth. Other options include targeted therapy, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, and chemotherapy, which NCI says is often used when surgery or other treatments cannot control a pancreatic NET.
Surgery to remove the tumor, when possible, is a central part of treatment for many neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).
Somatostatin analog drugs, such as octreotide and lanreotide, can control hormone-related symptoms, and NCI says they may also help slow tumor growth.
Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) delivers targeted radiation directly to NET cells that carry certain hormone receptors.
NCI says chemotherapy is often used for pancreatic NETs that cannot be controlled with surgery or other therapies.
On this page
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The whole article, with every detail and caution.
The simple version
This page is for people with a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) and those who care for them. It explains the main treatments and when to get help fast.
Treatment for a NET depends on a few things. Where did it start? Is it functioning (hormone-releasing) or not? What is its grade, and has it spread? NETs vary a lot. Plans are built one person at a time.
Surgery
Surgery to remove the tumor is central to care when it is possible. That can mean taking out a small tumor found early. If it has spread to the liver, NCI says treatment may include surgery to remove the part of the liver with cancer. If surgery is not an option, NCI lists other treatments such as somatostatin analogs and PRRT.
Medicines that control hormones and slow growth
Somatostatin analogs are drugs that act like a natural hormone that slows the release of other hormones. They are a main treatment for many NETs and are given as regular shots.
- Octreotide and lanreotide can ease symptoms such as flushing and diarrhea in carcinoid syndrome. NCI says they may also help slow tumor growth.
Some pancreatic NETs release one specific hormone. Other medicines can then block that hormone's effects. Examples are blood sugar medicine for an insulinoma, or acid-reducing medicine for a gastrinoma.
Targeted and radioactive therapies
- Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) ties a small amount of radioactive material to a molecule. That molecule seeks out NET cells with a certain hormone receptor. Radiation is then aimed more directly at the tumor.
- Targeted therapy drugs can block certain pathways that some NETs use to grow.
- Liver-directed treatments block or target the blood supply to liver tumors. They can be used when the liver is the main site of spread.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (chemo) is often used for pancreatic NETs that cannot be controlled with surgery or other therapies, according to NCI. Ask your team whether chemo fits your tumor's type and grade.
When to get help sooner
Some of these tumors release hormones. Some of the treatments lower your blood counts. Both can cause problems that need fast attention.
- Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if sudden flushing comes with wheezing, trouble breathing, a racing heartbeat, or feeling faint. Also call if a person with an insulinoma becomes suddenly confused, cannot be woken, or has a seizure. Also call 911 if you vomit blood or coffee-ground material, pass black or tarry stool, or bleed heavily. That can mean blood sugar has dropped dangerously low. Do not drive yourself.
- Call your care team right away, day or night, if your temperature reaches 100.4°F (38°C) or higher while you are on chemotherapy or any treatment that lowers your blood counts. CDC calls this a medical emergency. If they cannot be reached fast, go to an emergency department and say at check-in that you are having cancer treatment.
- If you are on chemotherapy or any treatment that lowers your blood counts, call your care team right away, day or night, for chills, a sore throat, mouth sores, burning when you urinate, redness at a catheter or port site, or any other sign of infection. Do this even if your temperature is normal. A normal temperature is not permission to wait.
- Call your care team right away if you run a fever and are not on treatment that lowers your counts, or if diarrhea is heavy enough that fluids will not stay down or you are passing very little urine.
- Call your care team right away if you keep having spells of shakiness, sweating, or blurred vision. These can be signs of low blood sugar.
- Call your care team within a day or two if flushing, diarrhea, or abdominal pain becomes more frequent than usual.
Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (Islet Cell Tumors) Treatment (PDQ) – Patient Version
- National Cancer Institute — Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors Treatment (PDQ) – Patient Version
- National Cancer Institute — Lutetium Lu 177-Dotatate
- CDC — Watch Out for Fever (Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients)
Common questions
Is surgery always used for neuroendocrine tumors?
No. NCI says surgery is a common and effective treatment for pancreatic NETs, and the type depends on where the tumor is and how big it is. A small, slow-growing tumor that is not causing problems may only be watched. If the tumor has spread to the liver, treatment may include removing part of the liver. If surgery is not an option, other treatments such as somatostatin analogs or PRRT may be used.
What are somatostatin analogs?
Somatostatin analogs, such as octreotide and lanreotide, are injectable medicines that mimic a natural hormone-blocking substance in the body. They can reduce hormone-related symptoms like flushing and diarrhea in functioning tumors, and NCI says they may also help slow tumor growth.
What is peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT)?
PRRT is a treatment that attaches a small amount of radioactive material to a molecule that seeks out NET cells with a specific hormone receptor on their surface. This delivers radiation more directly to the tumor cells than external radiation would, and is used for certain NETs that carry this receptor.
When is chemotherapy used?
NCI says chemotherapy is often used for pancreatic NETs that cannot be controlled with surgery or other therapies. Ask your team whether it fits your tumor's type and grade.
Does treatment address hormone symptoms as well as the tumor itself?
Yes, often both. For functioning tumors, part of treatment is aimed specifically at controlling the hormone and its symptoms — for example, somatostatin analogs for carcinoid syndrome, or medicine to manage blood sugar for an insulinoma — alongside treatment aimed at the tumor itself.
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Last updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-08-03
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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