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ArticleMolecular diagnosis & therapy2025

Diagnostic Utility of a 90-Gene Expression Assay (Canhelp-Origin) for Patients with Metastatic Cancer with an Unclear or Unknown Diagnosis.

Peng Qi, Yifeng Sun, Yue Pang, Jing Liu, Xu Cai, Shenglin Huang, Qinghua Xu, Qifeng Wang, Xiaoyan Zhou

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Article in Molecular diagnosis & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

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6citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Peng Qi *Department of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-5048-9604
Yifeng Sun *Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Yue PangDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Jing LiuDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Xu CaiDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Shenglin HuangDepartment of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.
Qinghua XuCanhelp Genomics Research Center, Canhelp Genomics Co., Ltd., No.22 Xinyan Road, Hangzhou, 310000, People's Republic of China. qinghua.xu@canhelpgenomics.com.
Qifeng WangDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China. wangqifeng19821982@126.com.
Xiaoyan ZhouDepartment of Pathology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, No. 270 Dongan Road, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China. 13524324387@163.com.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 728National Natural Science Foundation of China 81National Natural Science Foundation of China 972
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMetastatic cancers with unclear or unknown origins pose significant challenges in diagnosis and management, frequently leading to suboptimal outcomes. Studies have demonstrated that a 90-gene expression assay is effective in predicting the primary origin and guiding the site-specific therapy to improve prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a 90-gene expression assay in patients with unclear or unknown diagnoses.

methodsThe study encompassed patients for whom a 90-gene expression assay was requested as part of standard care. Data on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and clinical history were collected. The assay's performance was evaluated by comparing its predicted tumor type with the final histopathological diagnosis.

resultsAmong 303 cases analyzed, a 90-gene expression assay successfully identified a molecular-based tumor type for 295 (97.4%) patients. Comparison with histopathological diagnosis revealed an overall agreement of 88.5% (170/192). In patients with a single suspected primary site (n = 140), the assay confirmed the suspected diagnosis in 90.7% of cases. For those with a differential diagnosis (n = 52), the assay narrowed down the possibilities in 82.7% of cases. Moreover, in cases where the histopathology report indicated cancer of unknown primary (n = 103), the assay offered a molecular tumor type prediction with potential clinical significance.

conclusionsThis study demonstrates the significant impact of a 90-gene expression assay on diagnosis and potential treatment selection for difficult-to-diagnose patients, highlighting its clinical value as a standardized molecular approach to streamline further diagnostic testing for patients with metastatic cancer of unclear or unknown origin. Further prospective study is required to assess whether employing molecular diagnostic classifiers enhances clinical outcomes in these patients.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticNeoplasmsNeoplasms, Unknown PrimaryAdultAgedAged, 80 and overDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPrognosisBiomarkers, Tumor

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.