Survival Benefit With Proapoptotic Molecular and Pathologic Responses From Dual Targeting of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in a Preclinical Model of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Carcinogenesis

Purpose Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), although rare, often metastasize, such that surgery, the only potentially curative therapy, is not possible. There is no effective systemic therapy for patients with advanced PNETs. Therefore, new strategies are needed. Toward that end, we investigated the potential benefit of dual therapeutic targeting of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinases, using a preclinical mouse model of PNET.