Whether or not a cancer is local or has spread to other locations affects treatment and survival. If the cancer spreads to other tissues and organs, it may decrease a patient’s likelihood of survival. However, there are some cancers (i.e., leukemia, brain) that can kill without spreading at all.

When cancer has metastasized, it may be treated with radiosurgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy, surgery or a combination of these. The choice of treatment generally depends on the type of primary cancer, the size and location of the metastasis, the patient’s age and general health, and the types of treatments used previously. In patients diagnosed with CUP, it is still possible to treat the disease even when the primary tumor cannot be located.

The treatment options currently available are rarely able to cure metastatic cancer, though some tumors, such as testicular cancer, are usually still curable.