Kitagawa Y, et al. - In this retrospective analysis of patients with platinum-refractory gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinoma (GI-NEC), researchers assessed amrubicin (AMR) monotherapy for its efficacy and safety as a therapeutic option for these patients. A median of 3 (range, 1–15) cycles of AMR were administered to the patients (n=16). Prior to AMR monotherapy, cisplatin plus irinotecan, cisplatin plus etoposide, and fluoropyrimidine plus platinum were received by 13 (81.3%), 1 (6.2%), and 2 (12.5%) patients, respectively. Esophagus (N=3, 18.8%), stomach (N=10, 62.5%), duodenum (N=1, 6.2%) and colorectum (N=2, 12.5%) were the primary sites of NEC. The overall response rate was 6.3%. The median progression-free survival was 2.9 months and median overall survival was 13.8 months. Overall, findings demonstrated the feasibility of AMR as well as minimal side effects associated with this therapy in patients with platinum-refractory GI-NEC. Better patient survival could be achieved with organ-specific subsequent chemotherapy post-AMR.