COVID-19 Pandemic Resulted in Treatment Deferrals, Exploration of At-Home Options for Patients With Neuroendocrine Tumors

In an interview with Pharmacy Times about her presentation at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) 2021 neuroendocrine tumor (NET) Medical Symposium, Mei Ka Fong, PharmD, BCOP, said clinicians explored at-home monthly injections of somatostatin analogues during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep patients out of health care facilities as much as possible.

Because somatostatin injections are only administered once a month and are generally well-tolerated, Fong said self-administration at home was an option. Although the FDA label requires that they be given by a health care professional, she said different models were explored to allow nurses or caregivers to administer the injections at home.