Enabling Genomic Testing in Cancer of Unknown Primary

Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) is where cancer cells are found in the body but the place the cancer began is not known. It is the 6th leading cause of cancer death in the UK and the prognosis is poor with a median survival of 6-9 months. There is a higher than average incidence of CUP in the North West (NW) of England (population of 7.4 million). Precision medicine has transformed treatment strategies in known tumour types, however in CUP there remains an urgent need to better understand CUP molecular characteristics to establish potential roles for novel therapeutic strategies. Treatment options remain limited due to difficulties in determining the primary site of the tumour and the lack of access to validated biomarkers. Access to good-quality tissue for molecular profiling remains a huge challenge in CUP. The emergence of liquid biopsies (sequence DNA in a blood test) as a source of biomarkers is also gaining rapid ground and this study aims to explore the potential utility of liquid biopsies in CUP.