Comprehensive genomic profiling of patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP).
e15188 Background: Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) remains a clinical entity with limited standardized treatment options. However, recent studies have demonstrated that broad next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels provide clinically meaningful insights, enabling identification of actionable genomic alterations, refinement of tissue-of-origin hypotheses, and improved therapeutic stratification. A substantial proportion of CUP tumors harbor potentially targetable alterations, and a subset exhibits high tumor mutational burden (TMB-H) and/or high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) status. In this study, we assessed the clinical utility of comprehensive genomic profiling panels in CUP cases. Methods: Overall, 103 patients were analysed, including 74 tissue-based and 29 liquid biopsy cases. Matched leukocyte DNA was used to exclude clonal hematopoiesis–related variants. Targeted-capture NGS analysis was performed using two CE-IVD GenePlus assays covering 1021 cancer-related genes and 38 fusion genes, with integrated assessment of TMB and MSI. Sequencing was carried out on an MGI sequencing platform (DNBSEQ-T7). Results: NGS analysis revealed that 29% (30/103) of patients derived clinical benefit from pan-cancer biomarkers. Specifically, BRAF V600 mutations were detected in 5 cases, indicating sensitivity to BRAF/MEK inhibitors. TMB ≥10 muts/Mb was observed in 19 tissue samples, while TMB ≥16 muts/Mb was identified in 4 liquid biopsy samples, both suggesting eligibility for immunotherapy. Additionally, 2 cases were also MSI-H, supporting potential response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Genomic alterations with potential relevance for off-label targeted therapy were identified in 30% of patients. The most frequently mutated gene was KRAS (18 pts), indicating potential sensitivity to KRAS/MEK inhibitors. Additional alterations were observed in PIK3CA/PTEN, ERBB2, IDH, FGFR2 (fusion), and homologous recombination deficiency–related genes (BRCA2, ATM, BAP1), suggesting possible responsiveness to PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors, ERBB2-directed therapies, IDH, FGFR and PARP inhibitors, respectively. Finally, 29% of the patients were considered eligible for clinical trial enrolment, based on their molecular profiles. Conclusions: Therapeutically relevant molecular profiling results were identified in 59% of CUP patients. These findings support the integration of molecular profiling into routine CUP evaluation, facilitating biomarker-driven precision oncology strategies aimed at improving patient outcomes.
Authors
- Eirini Papadopoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5519-5325)
- Athanasios Karampeazis
- Nektarios Alevizopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2292-7467)
- İlhan Hacıbekiroğlu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0333-7405)
- Ilias Athanasiadis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5232-3862)
- Stefanos Dimoudis
- İlker Ökten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2360-3392)
- Panagiotis J. Vlachostergios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1704-1517)
- Mircea Dediu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9151-6026)
- Aikaterini Tsantikidi
- Eleni Thanou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5555-3630)
- Νικόλαος Τσούλος (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1424-1588)
- Syed Karim
- GEORGE NASIOULAS
- Hady Ghanem
- Georges El Hachem
- Chrysiida Chatzigiannidou-Florou
- Maria Kaparelou
- Giannis S. Mountzios
- Amanda Psyrri
Institutions
- Sakarya University (TR)
- University of Dubai (AE)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- Cornell University (US)
- Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest (RO)
- University Medical Center Rizk Hospital (LB)
- Interbalkan Medical Center (GR)
- Saint George Hospital (LB)
- 401 General Military Hospital of Athens (GR)
- Alexandra Hospital (GR)
- Kampakas (Greece) (GR)
- Mitera Hospital (GR)
- Athens Medical Center (GR)
- Acıbadem Kadıköy Hospital (TR)
- Henry Dunant Hospital (GR)
- Evangelismos Hospital (GR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Published
- 2026-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.e15188
- Primary Topic
- Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00