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Below, week by week, is what OnCo's record of Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) says about the first two months: the order is typical, the timing is yours to ask about. Cancer found already spread, where doctors cannot find where it started. Genomic profiling finds a drug target in about a third of cases and tumour-agnostic approvals apply directly; the rest still rely on general-purpose chemotherapy, which is what those tests are changing. Sections appear only where the record has something to say. Orientation, not medical advice.
Staging tests establish exactly what and where the cancer is. Everything else follows from the answers.
Ask which of these were tested and what the results were; see the report reader for what each value means.
These specialties appear in the standard of care for this cancer. In most centres they meet weekly as a tumour board to agree each plan; you can ask when yours was discussed and what was decided.
A second opinion from a centre that treats many similar cases is normal, not rude; the standard of care tells you what to compare it against.
Each row is a setting from the standard of care, in the order it usually arises. Not all will apply to you; your stage and biomarkers decide which do. The guideline grade, where recorded, says how strong the evidence is.
Treat as the presumed primary: e.g. axillary node-only adenocarcinoma in women as breast cancer (mastectomy or axillary dissection + radiotherapy, systemic therapy); cervical node SCC with chemoradiation; peritoneal serous carcinoma as ovarian.
Empiric carboplatin-paclitaxel or cisplatin-gemcitabine ×4-6; comprehensive genomic profiling at diagnosis to find targetable alterations or immunotherapy biomarkers.
Targeted therapy for actionable alterations (e.g. NTRK, BRAF V600E, HER2, ALK) and pembrolizumab for MSI-H/TMB-H; CUPISCO supports molecular-guided therapy after induction chemotherapy.
Generated from this cancer's standard of care, biomarkers and open problems. Take the group that matches where you are. To tick, add your own and print, open the one-page appointment sheet.
Trials open now for this cancer in OnCo, largest phase first. Joining a trial is a decision like any other: ask what the comparison arm is, whether a placebo is used, and what happens if you leave. The cancer page searches ClinicalTrials.gov live for more.
Much of what helps in the first weeks is free if you know to ask: testing, helplines, rides and lodging, second opinions, trial travel.
Every term links to the glossary.