Lutathera targets cancers that develop in pancreas, stomach, intestines, and other parts of the digestive system
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Providence Alaska Medical Center recently became the first in Alaska to offer a breakthrough treatment for a complex group of cancers that can develop in the pancreas, stomach, intestines, and other parts of the digestive system.
Lutathera is a targeted therapy that identifies and kills or reduces cancer cells in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Lutathera is approved for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients aged 12 and older with somatostatin receptor-positive forms of these tumors.
“Lutathera is a new, advanced medication that targets cancer cells at the molecular level,” said Stephen Settle, M.D., Ph.D., a radiation oncologist at PAMC. “This medication targets radiation specifically to cancer cells, leaving healthy normal cells intact. Think of it like a key that only fits the lock of the cancer cells and goes anywhere in the body to go after them.”
Lutathera is administered via infusion and works by acting as a targeted radioligand therapy, which uses a targeting molecule to find specific cancer cells and a radioactive particle to deliver a precise dose of radiation directly to those cells.
Patients typically receive four treatments given once every eight weeks. Before treatment, patients receive an amino acid infusion that helps protect the kidneys from radiation exposure. The entire treatment course usually takes about eight months to complete. Patients continue receiving standard treatment for GEP-NETs during and after Lutathera.
“Before we launched this program at Providence Alaska Medical Center, patients had to travel to the Lower 48 every eight weeks for four treatments and remain there for three days after each dose before returning home,” said John Halligan, M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director of Radiation Oncology with Providence Cancer Center. “That made access to this highly effective treatment extremely challenging for Alaskans.”
“We expect to treat five to 10 patients each year, and while that number is small, we believe it is absolutely worthwhile because of the meaningful impact this therapy can have on patients’ lives,” Halligan added.
According to the National Cancer Institute, Lutathera is the first radioactive drug approved to treat these rare cancers. In the past, patients with cancerous GEP-NETs had limited treatment options if initial therapy failed to keep the cancer from growing or progressing.
“For many patients, the previous option was octreotide, which helps manage symptoms such as flushing, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, asthma-like symptoms, racing heart and increased blood pressure. However, it does very little to stop tumor growth,” said Halligan. “In the landmark NETTER-1 trial, the two-year progression-free survival rate was 65% for patients treated with Lutathera, compared to just 11% for patients receiving octreotide alone. In addition, Lutathera is usually very well tolerated compared to chemotherapy.”
In 2025, Providence became the first treatment center in Alaska to offer Pluvicto, an innovative, targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy for men with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer.
“There are many more radioligand drugs currently in development and we expect to see other success stories like this in the years to come, said Settle. “Such radioligand drugs are going to be a real game-changer for patients, and we want Alaskans to be able to get these treatments right here at home.”
For more information, contact Lisa Friesen, RN, BSN, CNML, VA-BC, Providence Cancer Center manager, at 907-748-7635.
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