An observational study in Cancer of Unknown Primary and Neoplasm, Unknown Primary, sponsored by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Recruiting at 6 sites in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 16 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-25.
Sponsored by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust · Observational
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.
101 studies on the registry are indexed under Neoplasms, Unknown Primary; 19 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is below the median of 125 across 25 observational studies indexed under Neoplasms, Unknown Primary.
Browse Neoplasms, Unknown Primary studies →The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is the lead sponsor of 100 studies on the registry; 25 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Patients diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Confirmed diagnosis of CUP as per the ESMO guidelines. Patients must have;
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ECOG performance status
A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.
Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hepatitis B tests
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.
Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Blood sample collection for gene panel array testing and simultaneous research purposes
Diagnostic Test: Gene panel array · Other: Blood Sample Collection
Blood sample collection for gene panel testing
Blood sample collection for research purposes
Evaluate the utility of cfDNA molecular profiling in patients diagnosed with CUP
1. Percentage of patients with adequate cfDNA yields measured using FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx testing of blood samples obtained at baseline or progression timepoints 2. Percentage of patients with actionable genomic alterations measured using FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx testing of blood samples obtained at baseline or progression timepoints 3. Percentage of patients eligible for personalised treatment options or enrolment on a UK-based clinical trial because of the cfDNA results, measured using FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx testing of blood samples obtained at baseline or progression timepoints
Time frame: 33 months of recruitment + 12 months follow up period or 1 December 2027 whichever comes first
Data collection repository of readily available information on trails/treatments for patients diagnosed with CUP
Develop a data collection repository and readily available information on trials/treatments for patients diagnosed with CUP to be shared at monthly trial management group meetings to ensure that investigators are aware of suitable trial opportunities
Time frame: 33 months of recruitment + 12 months follow up period or 1 December 2027 whichever comes first
Incorporate molecular genomics into routine practice
Routinely incorporate molecular genomics as standard of care in patients diagnosed with CUP following FoundationOne®️ CDx or FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx at baseline and FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx at progression
Time frame: 33 months of recruitment + 12 months follow up period or 1 December 2027 whichever comes first
Document and feedback genomic results to treating team and patients
Documentation and feedback of genomic results/GTAB outcomes to all patients and treating teams following FoundationOne®️ CDx or FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx at baseline, and FoundationOne®️ Liquid CDx at progression
Time frame: 33 months of recruitment + 12 months follow up period or 1 December 2027 whichever comes first
Development of novel biomarkers to help in the diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed with CUP
Collect samples to be used to investigate novel biomarkers to help in the diagnosis and treatment in patients diagnosed with CUP
Time frame: Future research sample collection performed at baseline visit. 33 months of recruitment or 1st December 2026 whichever comes first
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust →