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Malignancy of Unknown Primary

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Surgical Oncology Manual

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Abstract

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) makes up a small percentage of newly diagnosed malignancies and is generally associated with a poor prognosis. Systematic evaluation of patients and close communication with pathology can often identify a suspected tissue of origin. It is critical to distinguish favorable prognosis subtypes of CUP from those with poor prognosis as favorable subtypes often have more effective treatment algorithms that can include curative intent treatment. For those with poor prognosis or no tentative tissue of origin identified, empiric chemotherapy is recommended using a taxane, platinum, or both. All cases require the attention of a multidisciplinary case conference and expert pathology review.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jessica Bogach

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Christine Elser

  3. Deparment of Medical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Christine Elser

  4. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Savtaj S. Brar

Authors
  1. Jessica Bogach
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  2. Christine Elser
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  3. Savtaj S. Brar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Savtaj S. Brar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Frances C. Wright

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jaime M. Escallon

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Moises Cukier

  4. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Melanie E. Tsang

  5. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Usmaan Hameed

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Bogach, J., Elser, C., Brar, S.S. (2020). Malignancy of Unknown Primary. In: Wright, F., Escallon, J., Cukier, M., Tsang, M., Hameed, U. (eds) Surgical Oncology Manual. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48363-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48363-0_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-48362-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-48363-0

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