Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation

02/20/2026

🔦We're excited to spotlight Yuanyuan Qiao, PhD, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, a recipient of a 2025 Investigator Award for her work to discover more effective treatments for gastroenteropancreatic NETs (GEP-NETs).

Dr. Qiao's lab is investigating how GEP-NETs rely on fats and cholesterol to fuel their growth. By blocking a protein called PIKfyve, particularly in combination with the standard mTOR inhibitor everolimus, her team seeks to disrupt both fat metabolism and iron balance within tumor cells, making them significantly more vulnerable to treatment.

This work could lead to therapies for GEP-NETs that are not only more powerful but also longer-lasting.

Read more about this novel study: https://ow.ly/Jv8050Yii9a

Congratulations to Dr. Qiao for her work to drive new discoveries and therapies for GEP-NET patients.👏

-NETs

02/19/2026

🎉Congratulations to Craig Levin, PhD, Professor at Stanford University and a recipient of a 2025 NETRF Investigator Award for his research to innovate Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for neuroendocrine cancer!

Currently, PET scanners can only use one tracer per scan, meaning patients may need multiple scans to get a full picture of their disease. Dr. Levin's team is developing a method to run two tracers (FDG and 68Ga-DOTATATE) simultaneously in a single PET scan, delivering complementary data on NET metabolism and somatostatin receptor expression all at once.

This has the potential to reduce patient burden, improve diagnostics, and offer better guidance to inform treatment decisions.

Read more about Dr. Levin’s project ➡️ https://ow.ly/xm2w50YifRa

Here’s to research that aims to improve patient experience and outcomes at once.

https://www.facebook.com/stanfordmedicine

02/13/2026

🔬Meet Susanne Kossatz, PhD, a recipient of a 2025 NETRF Investigator Award for her research to improve care for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs)!

Dr. Kossatz, based at TUM Klinikum Rechts der Isar in Munich, Germany, is working to strengthen peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for GEP-NETs.

PRRT delivers targeted radiation to tumor cells, damaging their DNA to slow or stop growth. Some cancer cells can repair that damage and continue growing, which can lead to tumor progression. At the same time, radiation can negatively impact healthy tissue, resulting in side effects.

With this grant, Dr. Kossatz is pairing PRRT with a DNA repair–blocking drug to keep tumor cells from fixing the radiation damage, which could make treatment more effective and longer lasting. By delivering the drug directly to tumor cells, her approach also aims to limit exposure to healthy tissue and reduce side effects.

Early lab and animal studies are encouraging. If successful, this strategy could help patients receive more treatment cycles and achieve longer-lasting benefits.

Read more about Dr. Kossatz’s research ➡️ https://ow.ly/cmp950YfnTX

Special thanks to the Karpus Family Foundation for making this grant possible.

02/12/2026

🎉Congratulations to Mauro Cives, MD, a recipient of a 2025 NETRF Investigator Award for his innovative work to advance immunotherapy for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs)!

Dr. Cives, based at the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Bari, Italy, has been awarded a NETRF grant to develop next-generation T-cell receptor (TCR) immunotherapy for PanNETs. He will work closely with Co-Investigator Anguraj Sadanandam, PhD, at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, UK.

PanNETs are rare cancers that often do not respond well to today’s immunotherapies. In many cases, the immune system can “see” these tumors, but the response is too weak to eliminate them.

With this grant, the team will use advanced technologies to identify the strongest immune cells already capable of recognizing PanNETs, then enhance and re-engineer them into a personalized treatment approach called adoptive T-cell therapy.The goal is to better equip a patient’s own immune system to target the cancer.

This innovative approach offers the potential for new treatment options where they're most needed.

Read more about Dr. Cives’ research ➡️ https://ow.ly/oWTS50YekyL

02/06/2026

NETRF’s 2026 Requests for Applications are now open!

We are pleased to offer funding across four mechanisms in 2026:
• Accelerator Award (AA): $800,000 over four years
• Investigator Award (IA): $300,000 over two years
• Mentored Research Award (MRA): $150,000 over two years
• Pilot Award (PA): $100,000 for one year

As always, NETRF welcomes strong science across the full spectrum of neuroendocrine cancer research. New this year, NETRF has also established a dedicated funding pool to accelerate translational immunotherapy, while continuing to support outstanding research broadly across the field.

🗓 Letters of Intent due March 16, 2026 (5PM ET)

📍 Applications must be submitted through Proposal Central
Learn more about the 2026 RFAs: https://ow.ly/l7NI50YaqN1

02/04/2026

This , NETRF is grateful for the support of our patient and caregiver community and the dedication of the researchers working to find better treatments and cures for .

Through research, partnership, and hope, we’re driving 💙

This year's World Cancer Day theme is United by Unique. Neuroendocrine cancer may be uncommon, but together our voices are powerful. We invite you to share your story.

02/03/2026

Meet Lynnette Fernandez-Cuesta, PhD, Team Leader at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO)

Dr. Fernandez-Cuesta has been awarded a NETRF Petersen Accelerator Award, NETRF’s largest and most prestigious award, providing $800,000 over four years, to uncover what drives “supra-carcinoids,” a rare but highly aggressive subtype of lung neuroendocrine tumor associated with a disproportionate share of relapses and deaths. Her team will define the biology of these tumors and develop tools to improve diagnosis and clinical management.

The Petersen Accelerator Award supports high-impact, multi-year research selected through rigorous peer review by leading experts in the neuroendocrine cancer field.

Her work aims to:
- Uncover what’s really driving supra-carcinoids to behave so aggressively
- Develop biomarkers to predict recurrence after surgery
- Build better tools to correctly diagnose these tumors and help guide more targeted treatment decisions

NETRF is proud to support research that pushes the field forward and brings new hope to neuroendocrine cancer patients and their loved ones.

Learn more about this groundbreaking project: https://ow.ly/1IAU50Y8eqp

01/31/2026

We're currently planning the next KNOW YOUR NETs conference, and we want to build on its success with your guidance. As someone living with neuroendocrine cancer or caring for someone who is, we're looking for your expert feedback to inform the content and format of this year's conference.

Please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey and help us create a KNOW YOUR NETs experience that truly meets your needs. Take the survey now https://ow.ly/tPTn50Y6Pxx

01/28/2026

🔬 Accelerating research and hope for the neuroendocrine cancer community!

We're proud to announce $2.8M in new research grants to 13 investigators pursuing breakthrough science in neuroendocrine cancer.

✨ What this funding supports:

- Earlier, simpler detection
- Personalized treatments
- New targeted therapies
- Immune-based approaches
- Preventing disease progression

This brings our all-time research investment to nearly $43M across 17 countries. 🌍
We're pleased to share that nine awardees are receiving NETRF funding for the first time.

Our generous community of donors makes this research possible. A special thank you to The Margie and Robert E. Petersen Foundation, Elaine Nord, the Firsty Family and the extended Seltzer Family in memory of Julie Seltzer Firsty, Laura and Lew Moorman, and the Family and Friends of Diamond Brown. 🩵

Read more about this dedicated group of scientists and their work to bring us closer to better treatments and cures for neuroendocrine cancer. https://ow.ly/KGYf50Y54pN

Neuroendocrine Cancer Research And Education To Help Improve, Extend And Save Lives. Online Expert Info For Patients And Families.

01/23/2026

As we look ahead to new opportunities in 2026, we're energized by the research momentum built in 2025. Thanks to your support, 50 active NETRF-funded research projects around the world are bringing us closer to better treatments and, ultimately, cures for neuroendocrine cancer.

See The Year in Research 2025. https://ow.ly/mEKY50Y1RoV

01/12/2026

Every breakthrough starts with collaboration. At the NETRF Annual Research Symposium, leading scientists from around the globe convene to advance neuroendocrine cancer research and deliver hope to patients and their loved ones. Go inside the symposium to learn why this work is so important.

01/08/2026

The latest episode of our NETWise podcast takes you inside our annual research symposium to hear from neuroendocrine cancer researchers and clinicians on:

- What’s changed in neuroendocrine cancer research over the past year
- How new discoveries impact diagnosis, treatment, and patient care
- Why NETRF’s 20 years of progress is shaping the future of NETs
- Where the field is headed next—scientifically and clinically

Don't miss Episode 50: The Year in Review 2025: Neuroendocrine Cancer Research and Clinical Progress

Research has been at the heart of NETRF’s mission for 20 years—and patients are the reason that work matters. Every study we fund is designed to move the field forward and improve how people with neuroendocrine cancer live, feel, and are treated. In this special episode of NETWise, we’re bring...