Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40070784›Full record

ArticleOncology letters2025

Clinical characteristics and survival analysis of cancer of unknown primary.

Minting Ma, Bin Guo, Qiuli Duan, Pengqing Jiao, Junfang Bi, Suju Wei, Junyan Wang, Fan Zhang, Yu Xu, Panpan Zhang and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oncology letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Minting MaDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Bin GuoDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Qiuli DuanDepartment of Anorectum Surgical, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Shijiazhuang City, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Pengqing JiaoDepartment of Immunology and Rheumatology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Junfang BiDepartment of Combined Traditional Chinese Medicine and West Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Shijiazhuang City, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Suju WeiDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Junyan WangDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Fan ZhangDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Yu XuDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Panpan ZhangDepartment of Thoracic Oncology II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, 100142, P.R. China.
Ming HeDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.
Jing JinInstitute of Cancer, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, P.R. China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a diagnosis that the primary lesion cannot be confirmed by a series of imaging, endoscopic and pathological examinations. The present study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with CUP. The present retrospective observational study included patients diagnosed with malignancies confirmed as CUP using histopathology at the Oncology Department of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (Shijiazhuang, China) from January 2009 to January 2021. Clinical and pathological data, genetic testing results, treatment modalities and median overall survival (OS) were analyzed. A total of 107 patients were included, with a mean age of 56.59 years. The median follow-up period was 48.8 months. Adenocarcinoma was the most common pathological type (38.3%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (31.8%) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (16.8%). The median OS was 28.4 months, with 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year OS rates of 68.2, 54.1, 48.4 and 42.3%, respectively. Imaging revealed that 31 patients (29%) had visceral metastases, and these patients had a significantly shorter median OS compared with those without visceral metastases (8.9 vs. 69 months; P=0.001). Patients who received local treatment (n=31; 29%) had significantly longer survival times than those who did not (69 vs. 17.9 months; P=0.009). Of the 107 patients, 101 (94.4%) received systemic treatment. The median OS times for different treatment groups were as follows: Chemotherapy alone, 28.4 months; chemotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, anti-angiogenic agents or targeted therapy, not reached; no chemotherapy, 8.0 months; and untreated, 9.4 months, with significant differences observed among the groups (P=0.008). The survival outcomes of patients with CUP varied based on the presence of visceral metastasis and the treatment modalities employed. Systemic treatments, particularly those incorporating targeted therapy, appear to have the potential to improve prognosis.

Indexed as

cancer of unknown primaryclinical characteristicssurvival analysistreatment

Identifiers

PMID40070784
PMCPMC11894511

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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.