Cancer Treatment Reviews
Volume 35, Issue 7 , Pages 570-573 , November 2009

Comparative survival with diverse chemotherapy regimens for cancer of unknown primary site: Multiple-treatments meta-analysis

  • Vassilis Golfinopoulos

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medical Oncology/Digestive Oncology, Jules-Bordet Institute, Brussels, Belgium
  • ,
  • George Pentheroudakis

      Affiliations

    • Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece
  • ,
  • Georgia Salanti

      Affiliations

    • Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece
  • ,
  • Andreas D. Nearchou

      Affiliations

    • Medical Oncology Clinic Sörmland, Mälarsjukhuset, Eskilstuna, Sweden
  • ,
  • John P.A. Ioannidis

      Affiliations

    • Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece
    • Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
  • ,
  • Nicholas Pavlidis

      Affiliations

    • Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Address: Division of Medical Oncology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Niarchou Avenue, 45500 Ioannina, Greece. Tel.: +30 2651099394.

Received 15 April 2009 ,Revised 19 May 2009 ,Accepted 24 May 2009.

References 

  1. Muir C. Cancer of unknown primary site. Cancer. 1995;75(Suppl. 1):353–356
  2. Van de Wouw AJ, Janssen-Heijnen ML, Coebergh JW, Hillen HF. Epidemiology of unknown primary tumors; incidence and population-based survival of 1285 patients in Southeast Netherlands, 1984–1992. Eur J Cancer. 2002;38:409–413
  3. Greco AF, Pavlidis N. Treatment for patients with unknown primary carcinoma and unfavorable prognostic factors. Semin Oncol. 2009;36:65–74
  4. Pavlidis N, Briasoulis E, Hainsworth J, Greco FA. Diagnostic and therapeutic management of cancer of an unknown primary. Eur J Cancer. 2003;39:1990–2005
  5. Briasoulis N, Pavlidis N, Felip E. Cancers of unknown primary site: ESMO clinical recommendation for diagnosis, treatment and follow up. Ann Oncol. 2008;19(Suppl. 2):ii106–ii107
  6. Pavlidis N, Fizazi K. Carcinoma of unknown primary. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2009;69:271–278
  7. Pentheroudakis G, Briasoulis E, Kalofonos HP, et al. Docetaxel and carboplatin combination chemotherapy as outpatient palliative therapy in carcinoma of unknown primary: a multicentre Hellenic cooperative oncology group phase II study. Acta Oncol. 2008;47:1148–1155
  8. Berry W, Elkordy M, O’Rourke M, Khan M, Asmar L. Results of a phase II study of weekly paclitaxel plus carboplatin in advanced carcinoma of unknown primary origin: a reasonable regimen for the community-based clinic?. Cancer Invest. 2007;25:27–31
  9. El-Rayes BF, Shields AF, Zalupski M, et al. A phase II study of carboplatin and paclitaxel in adenocarcinoma of unknown primary. Am J Clin Oncol. 2005;28:152–156
  10. Park YH, Ryoo BY, Choi SJ, Yang SH, Kim HT. A phase II study of paclitaxel plus cisplatin chemotherapy in an unfavourable group of patients with cancer of unknown primary site. Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2004;34:681–685
  11. Briasoulis E, Kalofonos H, Bafaloukos D, et al. Carboplatin plus paclitaxel in unknown primary carcinoma: a phase II Hellenic cooperative oncology group study. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:3101–3107
  12. Lu G, Ades A. Combination of direct and indirect evidence in mixed treatment comparisons. Stat Med. 2004;23:3105–3124
  13. Ioannidis J, Patsopoulos N, Evangelou E. Uncertainty of heterogeneity estimates in meta-analysis. BMJ. 2007;335:914–916
  14. Higgins JP, Thompson SG, Deeks JJ, Altman DG. Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ. 2003;327:557–560
  15. Caldwell D, Ades A, Higgins J. Simultaneous comparison of multiple treatments: combining direct and indirect evidence. BMJ. 2005;331:897–900
  16. Salanti G, Higgins J, Ades A, Ioannidis J. Evaluation of networks of randomized trials. Stat Methods Med Res. 2008;17:279–301
  17. Sutton A, Higgins J. Recent developments in meta-analysis. Stat Med. 2008;27:625–650
  18. Jansen JP, Crawford B, Bergman G, Stam W. Bayesian meta-analysis of multiple treatment comparisons: an introduction to mixed treatment comparisons. Value Health 2008 [epub ahead of print].
  19. Woods R, Fox R, Tattersall M, Levi J, Brodie G. Metastatic adenocarcinomas of unknown primary site: a randomized study of two combination-chemotherapy regimens. N Engl J Med. 1980;303:87–89
  20. Shildt R, Kennedy P, Chen T, Athens J, O’Bryan R, Balcerzak S. Management of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin: a southwest oncology group study. Cancer Treat Rep. 1983;67:77–79
  21. Milliken S, Tattersall M, Woods R, et al. Metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary site. A randomized study of two combination chemotherapy regimens. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 1987;23:1645–1648
  22. Eagan R, Therneau T, Rubin J, Long H, Schutt A. Lack of value for cisplatin added to mitomycin–doxorubicin combination chemotherapy for carcinoma of unknown primary site. A randomized trial. Am J Clin Oncol. 1987;10:82–85
  23. Falkson C, Cohen G. Mitomycin C, epirubicin and cisplatin versus mitomycin C alone as therapy for carcinoma of unknown primary origin. Oncology. 1998;55:116–121
  24. Dowell J, Garrett A, Shyr Y, Johnson D, Hande K. A randomized phase II trial in patients with carcinoma of an unknown primary site. Cancer. 2001;91:592–597
  25. Assersohn L, Norman A, Cunningham D, et al. A randomised study of protracted venous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with or without bolus mitomycin C (MMC) in patients with carcinoma of unknown primary. Eur J Cancer. 2003;39:1121–1128
  26. Culine S, Lortholary A, Voigt J, et al. Cisplatin in combination with either gemcitabine or irinotecan in carcinomas of unknown primary site: results of a randomized phase II study – trial for the French study group on carcinomas of unknown primary (GEFCAPI 01). J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:3479–3482
  27. Huebner G, Link H, Kohne C, et al. Paclitaxel and carboplatin vs gemcitabine and vinorelbine in patients with adeno- or undifferentiated carcinoma of unknown primary: a randomised prospective phase II trial. Br J Cancer. 2009;100:44–49
  28. Palmeri S, Lorusso V, Palmeri L, et al. Cisplatin and gemcitabine with either vinorelbine or paclitaxel in the treatment of carcinomas of unknown primary site: results of an Italian multicenter, randomized, phase II study. Cancer. 2006;107:2898–2905
  29. Ioannidis JP, Pavlidis N. Levels of absolute survival benefit for systemic therapies of advanced cancer. A call for standards. Eur J Cancer. 2003;39:1194–1198

PII: S0305-7372(09)00087-5

doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2009.05.005

Cancer Treatment Reviews
Volume 35, Issue 7 , Pages 570-573 , November 2009