The importance of international collaboration
The extremely rare nature of PNET makes it challenging for researchers to obtain enough tumour samples to conduct a viable local study. This has resulted in researchers collaborating around the world to share tumour samples and data so as to achieve the critical threshold of minimum numbers required to be able to make credible findings.
There are currently a number of research projects occurring.
The PNET International Working Group
The largest PNET research project involves an international consortium comprising a large number of Neuro-Oncologists across the world. The group operates in over 6 countries, including Canada, USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Italy.
The group is led by:
- Dr Annie Huang (Toronto),
- Dr Jordan Hansford (Australia),
- Dr Marcel Kool (Germany) and Dr Katja Von Hoff (Germany).
In total, there are over 14 very experienced doctors working collaboratively to undertake this important research.
This group is conducting studies into the unique biological and pathological markers of PNET tumours using molecular profiling techniques.
Working collaboratively, they have been able to bring together 100 tumour samples from patients across the world and the size of the study is expected to increase dramatically by the end of the year.