Novartis, NKTI tie up to help GEP NET patients

MANILA, Philippines - Novartis Oncology has formed an alliance with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) to help improve the diagnosis and management of patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP NETs), a form of cancer frequently difficult to diagnose and treat or manage.

NKTI executive director Dr. Aileen Riego-Javier, NKTI medical laboratory director Dr. Januario Antonio Veloso, and Novartis Oncology Business Unit head Bibiane Fontejon recently signed the memorandum of agreement formally launching the NET Alliance Philippines program at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

NET Alliance Philippines aims to increase disease awareness and enhance patient care through the formation of a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists composed of medical oncologists, endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons and pathologists.

The team will hold regular meetings to enable members to share their clinical experience and discuss GEP NET cases.

Under the program, Novartis Oncology will assist patients by subsidizing the cost of a screening test called Chromoganin A (CgA) to promote early GEP NET diagnosis.

CgA is a blood marker that is abnormally elevated in almost 90 percent of patients with GEP NETs. Novartis will also provide patients with GEP NET educational materials to help them understand and cope with their disease.

GEP NETs are solid malignant tumors believed to originate from neuroendocrine cells, with the majority arising from the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas. They have a strong tendency to spread to other organs (metastasize), particularly the liver and the bones.

GEP NETs may be silent for years. Symptoms are often vague and commonly mistaken for other conditions. Depending on the type of NET, symptoms can include diarrhea, abdominal pain, flushing (redness of the skin), and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

“By helping patients gain access to a reliable screening test, the alliance between NKTI and Novartis Oncology will enable cancer specialists to diagnose NET at an early stage when there is a much better chance of successful treatment,” said medical oncologist Dr. Gloria Cristal Luna.

“Early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach are critical in the optimal management of GEP NETs. NET Alliance Philippines provides these two key elements,” said Veloso.

“NET Alliance Philippines is part of our long-term commitment to Filipino patients and health care professionals in improving cancer detection and management,” said Dr. Joseph Tovera, Oncology Medical Affairs head of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.