Management Recommendations for Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Danish Perspective

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

Documents

  • Simon Naseri
  • Torben Steiniche
  • Morten Ladekarl
  • Marie Louise Bønnelykke-Behrndtz
  • Hølmich, Lisbet Rosenkrantz
  • Langer, Seppo W.
  • Alessandro Venzo
  • Elizaveta Tabaksblat
  • Siri Klausen
  • Mathilde Skaarup Larsen
  • Niels Junker
  • Annette H. Chakera

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare malignant neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin with a poor prognosis and an apparent increase in incidence. Due to its rarity, evidence-based guidelines are limited, and there is a lack of awareness among clinicians. This review constitutes the consensus management recommendations developed by the Danish MCC expert group and is based on a systematic literature search. Patients with localized disease are recommended surgical excision and adjuvant radiotherapy to the primary site; however, this may be omitted in patients with MCC with low risk features. Patients with regional lymph node involvement are recommended complete lymph node removal and adjuvant radiotherapy in case of extracapsular disease. Metastatic disease was traditionally treated with chemotherapy, however, recent clinical trials with immune therapy have been promising. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1) axis should therefore be strongly considered as first-line treatment for fit patients. A 5-year follow-up period is recommended involving clinical exam every 3 months for 2 years and every 6 months for the following 3 years and PET-CT one to two times a year or if clinically indicated. These national recommendations are intended to offer uniform patient treatment and hopefully improve prognosis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number554
JournalCancers
Volume12
Issue number3
Number of pages13
ISSN2072-6694
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2020

    Research areas

  • Diagnosis, Guideline, Merkel cell carcinoma, Review, Treatment

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