A diagnosis of ''adenocarcinoma'' which is not further described, known as adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified or adenocarcinoma NOS, is significant because it indicates a cancerous process is present.
However, it is not very useful for treatment decisions and prognosis, as these are determined by the tissue from which the tumour cells arose, i.e. the tissue of origin; an adenocarcinoma of the colon has a different prognosis and treatment than an adenocarcinoma of the ovary.
Adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified is often a preliminary diagnosis and can frequently be clarified by a pathologist with the use of immunohistochemistry.
Cancer for which a primary site cannot be found is called cancer of unknown primary.
Further Reading
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article on
"Adenocarcinoma"
All material adapted used from Wikipedia is available under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Wikipedia® itself is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.