title: [Unknown primary cancer: revision of our experience. Preliminary study].
abstract: The unknown primary cancer is a hazardous diagnostic and limited therapeutic medical problem with too much variability. It is possible to design a standard procedure using the world-wide scientific literature, which could be able to decrease patient suffering and to avoid unnecessary sanitary costs, without diminishing survival. First of all we have conducted a retrospective descriptive study including all the patients with unknown primary neoplasms detected in our Internal Medicine service during 1994. We have met 18 cases, most of them adenocarcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma, and hepatomegaly as clinical presentation. In 8 cases (44%) was the primary tumour site identified, mainly with CT. Only 3 (16%) patients were alive at the end of the study, with a mean survival of 5 months. The mean stay and time until diagnosis were 16.5 and 21.5 days respectively. Further studies will let us to asses the effectiveness of a theoretic diagnostic protocol.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital de Cabueñes, Gijón.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antuña Egocheaga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suárez Echevarría
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lobo Fernández
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernández Bustamante
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alonso Vigil
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: López González
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality
vernacular_title: Cáncer de origen desconocido: revisión de nuestra experiencia. Estudio preliminar.