Cancer is named from the place it originates. This makes a difference on what type of treatments will be effective. Being diagnosed with cancer of the unknown primary (CUP) means that cancer has been found in the body but the place of origin is unknown.

If later, the place of origin is found then the type of cancer diagnosis changes from an unknown primary to the specific organ or body area that the disease first began.

Some cases of cancer of the unknown primary are unfortunately never found. Physicians will then decide on the best course of treatment based on two factors: The way the cells look under the microscope and which organs are currently involved.

Statistics and Prognosis:

The exact number of cases of this disease is not known. It may be about 2% to 5% of all cancers in the United States. It is found more often among men than among women. The average age of people with this cancer is about 60 years.

This is a very dangerous cancer. Only half of patients will live 9 to 12 months after their cancer is found. There are several reasons why this cancer is so serious. First, most of these are fast-spreading cancers. Second, because the exact type is not known, it is harder for doctors to know what treatment is best. Also, the cancer is often widespread, making it harder to cure.

In recent years, microscopic and other diagnostic techniques have improved dramatically. For this reason, doctors can now determine the primary site in about four out of five cases.

The Boston Marathon takes place today. And one runner -- known to friends and family as Running Bear -- will run to raise money for brain tumor research. She's already collected more than $3,500.

Harvard student Sarah MacCarthy, 25, will run for her Uncle Tim, who is battling glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive form of the primary brain tumors known collectively as gliomas.

If Uncle Tim can fight for his life, MacCarthy can use her privilege of good health to make a difference -- even if it means stepping up her casual running to marathon standards.

The Brain Tumor Society will benefit from MacCarthy's determination. Dedicated to improving quality of life for patients, survivors, and families affected by this disease, BTS is committed to being a national leader in the quest for a cure.

It seems MacCarthy is pretty committed herself. To contribute to her efforts and check on her progress, click here.

Some scientists believe that surgery to remove a breast tumor may actually help the cancer spread and have recently reported that this same belief may be the exact reason black women are more likely to die of breast cancer.

There is apparently a widespread belief in parts of Africa and the United States that removing a tumor hastens death.

"I must say that I am sure there is more to this than just a myth," said Michael Retsky of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, who shares his opinions in the International Journal of Surgery.

Retsky still urges any woman with breast cancer to have her tumor removed. And he says chemotherapy is such standard practice for any cancer threatening to spread. It's a safety net of sorts to catch the cells that get away. So if surgery causes cancer to spread, then in theory, chemotherapy should stop the spread.

Retsky, who is not suggesting any change in clinical practice, thinks the subject needs far more research. American Cancer Society experts, who tend to question this theory, agree.

"Whether or not the theory is correct, I have difficulty with the logic that they employed to get there," said oncologist Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society who says women should never delay treatment for breast cancer.

Retsky believes that perhaps surgery, by wounding the body, causes it to produce growth factors that fuel the growth of other, tiny tumors. Or maybe a primary tumor secretes some sort of factor that holds the other tumors in check. When the main tumor is removed, the smaller tumors grow.

But it could be that surgery does not cause a spread at all – and that any belief of this nature has no connection with breast cancer tendencies in black women. It may be that black women just have a genetic predisposition for more aggressive forms of the disease.

We all know breast cancer strikes women -- a lot of women -- but about 1,700 men also develop the disease each year in the United States. And while their risk of diagnosis is much more hopeful than the reality facing women, men with breast cancer face their own version of a not-so-rosy reality.

According to researchers at the University of California, Irvine, men treated for breast cancer face a very real chance of getting cancer again. Their study found that 11.5 percent of men with breast cancer develop second primary cancers -- mostly in the breast, stomach, and skin -- within two months following initial treatment.

"Even more disturbing, we found that men with breast cancer are diagnosed with later-stage disease and that patients with onset of the disease at a young age are even more likely to develop a second cancer," said Hoda Anton-Culver, chief of epidemiology in the UCI School of Medicine.

In light of these findings, researchers recommend men with breast cancer be closely monitored for a second onset of cancer.

Cancer of the unknown primary is when cancer is found somewhere in the body but the pathologist is unable to tell where the cells originated from. The cancer cells are so poorly differentiated that they do not resemble any cells of the body. It can be very difficult to find the right treatment because doctors usually use the type of cancer as the main starting point to choose chemotherapy or treatments that are known to be effective. Other problems arise with this type of diagnoses. Many physicians do not have much to go on to treat this disease or know if the patient is likely to survive.

French researchers have developed a prognostic model for cancer of the unknown primary. The findings were published in the December 1st issue of Cancer. Low serum albumin levels and elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the blood of patients had the worse prognosis overall. This prognostic model can show who has the most powerful adverse prognostic factors.

Even with this information though, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with treatment. They can tell who has a better or worse prognosis but what then?

Previous posts on the topic:

Cancer of the unknown primary

Your cancer care continues even after you have completed your planned course of treatment. Any physician who participated actively in your care should continue to see you for routine check-ups. This may include your medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and surgeon. The good news is that as time passes checkups will be less frequent.

Here are some important reasons to keep your follow up appointments:

• Managing ongoing side effects from cancer treatment.
• Early detection of any cancer recurrence.
• Cancer patients are at increased risks for other cancers and should be monitored for detection in the early stages.
• Management of medications that may decrease the risk of cancer recurrence but could cause a second primary cancer to develop.
• Discussing any new concerns that arise.

It is always important to contact your physicians immediately if there is a change in your medical condition or if you feel there is a problem that needs attention.

When I went to see my first oncologist she said to me "Your not 80 so your going to get aggressive treatment". I never understood why she had to say that. What if I was a healthy spunky 80 year old? Would I just be written off? I do know that some older women are getting the correct therapy for breast cancer but many of them are not according to a study conducted within six large managed care organizations.

According to the study if you are aged 75-79 you were three times more likely to receive non-standard primary therapy over women between the ages of 65 and 69. If you were above 80 years of age then you were almost six times more likely to receive non-standard care.

Older women were less likely to be offered chemotherapy and radiation treatments it seems just because of their age alone without taking into consideration the patients ability to tolerate the treatment.

If you are older than 75 years of age and are diagnosed with cancer I think its important that your physician discuss all treatment options available. The older age group should be treated like every other age group and have a personalized assessment of what the risks and benefits are if treatment is needed.

Lori was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary in November 2002 on her twenty seventh birthday. Lori blogs too sexy for my hair. She writes about her experiences with cancer and also how it wrecks havoc on her mental state.

I know what its like to be diagnosed with cancer on your birthday but I really can't imagine not knowing what kind of cancer I have.

Cancer of an unknown primary basically means that they can't tell what part of the body it originated. When a pathologist looks at cancer cells under the microscope they can usually tell if it's a breast cell that is cancerous or lung cell etc. Sometimes the cancer cells don't resemble any normal cells of the body. They are too primitive to identify.

I'm not sure how they begin to treat an unknown primary since there are different chemotherapy drugs given depending on where the cancer originated. Do the doctors just guess and try different regimens?

Lori keeps her sense of humor even though she struggles with the side effects of chemotherapy on a constant basis. She refers to her cancer as ad-duh-no-carcinoma.

Lori is one tough chic!