ArticleCancer medicine2018
Cancer of unknown primary-Epidemiological trends and relevance of comprehensive genomic profiling.
Article in Cancer medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Quest for Improving Treatment of Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) Through Molecularly-Driven Treatments: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Pooled it
- A prospective national precision medicine trial evaluating the feasibility of blood-based molecular profiling in patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP-COMP).British journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Head and neck cancer of unknown primary: a nationwide analysis of hospital-based cancer registry data in Japan, 2018-2022.International journal of clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies for Brain Metastases from Unknown Primary Tumors: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Mortality Trends in Cancer of Unknown Primary Site in Serbia, 1990-2024: A Joinpoint Regression and Age-Period-Cohort Analysis.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) of the head and neck: state of the art and future perspectives.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Remarkable Efficacy of Capmatinib in a Patient with Cancer of Unknown Primary with MET Amplification.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- Rethinking cancer of unknown primary: from diagnostic challenge to targeted treatment.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2025Review
- Cancer of unknown primary: the hunt for its elusive tissue-of-origin - is it time to call off the search?British journal of cancer · 2025Review
- Outcomes and molecular profiles in sarcomatoid carcinoma of unknown primary: the Mayo Clinic experience.The oncologist · 2025Article
- Evolution in the diagnosis and treatment of carcinoma of unknown primary: a multicenter Canadian analysis.The oncologist · 2025Article
- Mutational landscape and DNA methylation-based classification of squamous cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Article
- Article
- Tumor diagnosis recharacterization enabled by comprehensive genomic profiling to guide precision medicine strategy.NPJ precision oncology · 2025Article
- Advancements in Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Cancer of Unknown Primary in the Era of Precision Medicine.MedComm · 2025Review
- Added value of body MRI to detect primary abdominal malignancies in the diagnostic work-up of patients with adenocarcinoma of unknown primary.European radiology · 2025Article
- Impact of whole genome sequencing on the care pathway for patients with cancer of unknown primary.ESMO open · 2025Article
- Occult breast cancer in an older woman: A case report.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2025Article
- Diagnostic Utility of a 90-Gene Expression Assay (Canhelp-Origin) for Patients with Metastatic Cancer with an Unclear or Unknown Diagnosis.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a distinct clinicopathological entity with poor prognosis, frequently resistant to chemotherapy. Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) by next-generation sequencing potentially identifies novel treatment options for CUP patients. The objective of this study was to determine incidence and survival trends and to discuss the value of CGP in CUP patients.
methodsAge-standardized incidence rates (ASR) per 100 000 were calculated for 2935 CUP patients from 1981 to 2014 using cancer registry data of the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were estimated for sex, age, and histological groups. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR). A literature review was conducted to assess the current use of CGP in CUP patients.
resultsASR of CUP increased from 10.3 to 17.6 between 1981 and 1997 and decreased to 5.8/100 000 in 2014. Mean overall survival remained stable. Mortality was significantly lower for patients with squamous cell carcinoma (HR 0.48 [95% CI, 0.41-0.57]) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (0.75 [0.63-0.88]) and higher for unclassified neoplasms (1.25 [1.13-1.66]) compared to adenocarcinomas. The literature review identified 10 studies using CGP of CUP tissue. Clinically relevant mutations were identified in up to 85% of CUP patients, of which 13%-64% may benefit from currently available drugs.
conclusionsCUP incidence decreased probably due to improved diagnostics, but mortality did not improve over the last 34 years. CGP testing may help to identify molecular signatures in CUP patients and enable targeted treatment.
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