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Abstract

Background: Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) is a heterogeneous entity of malignant epithelial tumors. In general, CUP follows an aggressive biological and clinical behavior. There is generally limited information regarding this issue. Objectives: To assess clinical and epidemiological features of patients diagnosed with CUP. Patients and method: All patients categorized as having CUP who attended the department of clinical oncology, Menoufia University from January 2013 to December 2015 were included in the study. The patients� features, investigations and clinical outcomes were collected. Also, time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) were calculated. Results: The study included 103 patients representing about 2.2 % of the total number of patients visited clinical oncology department outpatients� clinic during the same period. Most of the patients were males, the mean age of the patients was 58 years, pain was the most common presenting symptom, and adenocarcinoma was the most common reported pathological subtype. Only 50.5% of the patients were fit to receive platinum combination chemotherapy. The median TTP was 2 months and the median OS was 3 months. Age, performance status & presenting symptom had statistically significant relation with TTP. While, the baseline performance status, presenting symptoms and pathological subtype had statistically significant relation with OS. Conclusion: Carcinomas of unknown primary origin are not uncommon tumors in clinical oncology department, Menoufia University with wide varieties of clinical presentations. Baseline performance status, presenting symptoms and pathological subtype had statistically significant relation with OS.

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