METASTATIC CANCER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN

It is relatively common to observe metastatic cancer of unknown origin , In approximately 20% of the cases, the primary cancer is later ident ified during the lifetime of the patient, In others, even necropsy doe s not reveal the origin, The most frequently identified origins are pa ncreas or bronchogenic cancer, Initially search is guided by the patho logy report of the tumor: well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (60% of t he cases), squamous cell cancer (5-10% of the cases), undifferentiated cancer (1/3 of the cases), Immunoperoxydase tumor staining is indispe nsable to detect specific tumors (1/5 of the cases). Subgroups of aden ocarcinomas have been distinguished as for squamous cell carcinoma of unknown origin allowing specific treatment and better results, Recent reports on undifferentiated cancers have demonstrated their increased sensitivity to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Prognosis remains poor, n evertheless, mean survival does reach approximately one year, Progress has been especially achieved in individualized groups, Chemotherapy r emains the basic treatment.