1. Cancer of Unknown Primary in the Molecular Era
- Author
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Kato, Shumei, Alsafar, Ahmed, Walavalkar, Vighnesh, Hainsworth, John, and Kurzrock, Razelle
- Subjects
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Oncology and Carcinogenesis ,Human Genome ,Genetics ,Biotechnology ,Cancer ,Rare Diseases ,Clinical Research ,Good Health and Well Being ,Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ,Biomarkers ,Tumor ,Clinical Decision-Making ,Clinical Trials as Topic ,DNA Mutational Analysis ,Gene Expression Profiling ,High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ,Humans ,Immunohistochemistry ,Molecular Targeted Therapy ,Neoplasms ,Unknown Primary ,Patient Selection ,Precision Medicine ,Progression-Free Survival ,cancer of unknown primary ,genomic ,targeted therapy ,Oncology and carcinogenesis - Abstract
Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a rare malignancy that presents with metastatic disease and no identifiable site of origin. Most patients have unfavorable features and attempts to treat based on tissue-of-origin identification have not yielded a survival advantage compared with empiric chemotherapy. Next-generation sequencing has revealed genomic alterations that can be targeted in selected cases, suggesting that CUP represents a unique malignancy in which the genomic aberrations may be integral to the diagnosis. Recent trials focusing on tailored combination therapy matched to the genomic alterations in each cancer are providing new avenues of clinical investigation. Here, we discuss recent findings on molecular aberrations in CUP and how the genomic and immune landscape can be leveraged to optimize therapy.
- Published
- 2021