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Abstract

BACKGROUND:Cancer of unknown primary origin is an obscure group of diagnoses in which the primary anatomical site of tumor origin is not specified.OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the trend of cancer of unknown primary origin in Iraq in the period from 2005 to 2019 at the national and governorate level and its pathological characteristics.METHODS:The data was compiled from the cancer registry of Iraq for the period 2005-2019 and from Al Amal Cancer Hospital for the period 2010-2019. Data included information on gender, age, geographical distribution, site of metastasis, and histology types.RESULTS:A total of 9,593 cases of CUP were registered in the cancer registry for the period 2005-2019.                 The total number of registered patients in Al Amal Cancer Hospital between 2010- 2019 was 1,698. The incidence of cancer of unknown primary origin demonstrated a convergence during 2005-2019 with an average of 1.88/100,000. There was a slight increase in incidence through 2006 (2.6/100,000) and 2007 (2.4/100,000) for both sexes. The majority of reported cases were in the age group 56-65 (31.5%) and males constituted 53.9% of all the cases. The commonest metastatic sites were lymph nodes (18%) and the liver (16%). Adenocarcinoma constituted 55.9% of cases.CONCLUSION:Iraq is considered a country with a low incidence of cancer of unknown primary origin.                          The diagnosis and treatment of cancer of unknown primary origin are challenging due to its late presentation, difficulty in diagnosis and the treatment choices offered are limited and non-selective. 

DOI

10.52573/ipmj.2023.182290

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