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Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Treatment (PDQ®)
Patient Version   Health Professional Version   En español   Last Modified: 07/25/2008



Purpose of This PDQ Summary






General Information






Cellular Classification






Stage Information






Newly Diagnosed Carcinoma of Unknown Primary






Recurrent Carcinoma of Unknown Primary






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Changes to This Summary (07/25/2008)






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Purpose of This PDQ Summary

This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about the treatment of carcinoma of unknown primary. This summary is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by the PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board.

Information about the following is included in this summary:

  • Clinical features and therapeutic management approaches.
  • Cellular classification.
  • Staging.
  • Treatment options for various tumor types and their subsets.

This summary is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians who care for cancer patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions.

Some of the reference citations in the summary are accompanied by a level-of-evidence designation. These designations are intended to help readers assess the strength of the evidence supporting the use of specific interventions or approaches. The PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial Board uses a formal evidence ranking system in developing its level-of-evidence designations. Based on the strength of the available evidence, treatment options are described as either “standard” or “under clinical evaluation.” These classifications should not be used as a basis for reimbursement determinations.

This summary is available in a patient version, written in less technical language, and in Spanish.

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