Rohit Thummalapalli, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

NCIS

The North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) congratulates Rohit Thummalapalli, MD, Assistant Attending L1 at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, NY, as the 2024 recipient of NANETS Clinical Investigator Scholarship (NCIS). Dr. Thummalapalli was awarded this scholarship for his proposal: A pilot study of DLL3-directed immuno-PET imaging for patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (GEP NENs).

As he transitions into his faculty position at MSKCC as a clinical investigator focused on GI cancers, Dr. Thummalapalli plans to leverage his prior experiences in clinical/translational research and clinical trial development to pursue this project. He plans to deeply dive into DLL3 targeting in GI neuroendocrine cancers as a faculty member, with this planned DLL3 PET study just one of multiple planned projects. He also plans to explore additional targetable cell surface markers and theranostic approaches in GI neuroendocrine cancers, as well as novel targeted therapy approaches in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers, leveraging his prior work in lung cancer.

Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes, his mentor, is a top New York City oncologist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is the creator and host of the award-winning monthly podcast Cancer Straight Talk from MSKCC where she leans in and tackles the subject of cancer head on, in English and Spanish. She was also the 2009 recipient of the NANETS’ Young Investigator Grant.

“Through his transition from the thoracic to GI oncology space, Dr. Thummalapalli has recently compiled a very exciting set of preliminary data describing frequent expression of DLL3 in tumor samples of patients with gastrointestinal neuroendocrine cancers treated here at MSK,” said Dr. Reidy-Lagunes. “Given the expanding set of therapeutic agents being developed against DLL3 as described in Dr. Thummalapalli’s proposal, I am excited to work with him to further our understanding of DLL3 as therapeutic target in GEP NENs through a novel DLL3 PET imaging protocol as described extensively in his proposal.”

Dr. Thummalapalli has three aims: to determine feasibility of DLL3 PET imaging in GEP NENs, to evaluate correlation between DLL3 PET avidity and DLL3 IHC at the tumor level, and to assess DLL3 PET interlesional heterogeneity among WD GEP NETs, including correlation with loss of SSTR expression.

NANETS is pleased to support Dr. Thummalapalli’s work on this research proposal. The NCIS award is a one-year, $50,000 grant supported by an educational grant from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

NANETS is grateful to Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, whose generous investment and support of this annual research grant will make a difference in the NET medical community and the patients we serve. The NANETS Scientific Review & Research Committee establishes the award criteria, reviews process, and independently selects the recipient.