ReviewMerkel cell carcinoma adjuvant therapy: Current data support radiation but not chemotherapy
Section snippets
Data support adjuvant radiotherapy for MCC
Adjuvant radiotherapy is associated with a marked decrease in local recurrences and a trend to improved survival in multiple retrospective studies. A meta-analysis was carried out on 1254 patients with MCC previously reported in the literature who met the following criteria: a single primary tumor arising on skin that was excised with negative surgical margins on whom follow-up data were included regarding recurrence and survival.5 In this study, patients who received adjuvant radiation therapy
Adjuvant chemotherapy for MCC is not currently supported by data
Many patients with MCC receive adjuvant chemotherapy in analogy to a more common neuroendocrine tumor, small-cell carcinoma of the lung (SCLC). However, there are several important differences between SCLC and MCC that suggest that therapy established for one disease should not automatically be extended to the other. Below are 6 issues that raise concern about the routine use of adjuvant chemotherapy in MCC.
1. Adjuvant chemotherapy for MCC has not been shown to improve survival. Several recent
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Supported by Harvard/National Cancer Institute Skin Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE), Merkel cell carcinoma patient fund, National Institutes of Health K02-AR050993.
Conflicts of interest: None declared.