Onkológia 4/2013

The importance of biological therapy in malignant tumor of unknown primary origin

Cancer of unknown primary origin represents an artificial nosological entity comprising a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors with different biological features. This nosological entity reflects the diagnostic limitation at a given time. Advances in molecular biology have led to the development of diagnostic methods based on the gene expression profile enabling the identification of the organ of origin of malignant tumors in almost all cases. At the same time, a significant progress in the treatment of disseminated malignant tumors of known origin has been achieved. These advances were attributed mainly to targeted or biological therapy. Currently ongoing clinical trials have been investigating the effectiveness of chemotherapy and targeted therapy specific for malignant tumors of known origin in the treatment of cancers of unknown primary origin with defined origin based on the gene expression profile. Early results of these trials indicate an improvement in therapeutic outcome.

Keywords: tumors of unknown origin, biological therapy, gene expression profile.