These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Single-institution series of early-stage Merkel cell carcinoma: long-term outcomes in 95 patients managed with surgery alone.
    Author: Bajetta E, Celio L, Platania M, Lo Vullo S, Patuzzo R, Maurichi A, Santinami M.
    Journal: Ann Surg Oncol; 2009 Nov; 16(11):2985-93. PubMed ID: 19609619.
    Abstract:
    AIM: To determine the long-term outcomes of early-stage Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) patients managed with surgery alone. METHODS: Ninety-five consecutive patients were reviewed. Patients were treated by wide local excision. Clinically negative regional nodes were either followed up (n=42) or staged with sentinel lymph node biopsy (n=21), and clinically positive nodes underwent lymph node dissection (n=32). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 65 months. A total of 45 (47%) patients relapsed, with 80% of the recurrences occurring within 2 years and 96% within 5 years. The 5-year crude cumulative incidence (CCI) of recurrence and disease-specific survival (DSS) were 52% and 67%, respectively. CCI of local 5-year recurrence was 5% for the study cohort. Patients with MCC in the head and neck region had a 5-year local-recurrence CCI of 19%, and patients with MCC in the extremity and trunk region had a 5-year local-recurrence CCI of 2% (P=0.007). Comparing patients with <or=2 versus >2 metastatic lymph nodes, the 5-year regional-recurrence CCI was 0% versus 39% (P=0.004). The 5-year distant-recurrence CCI was higher in clinically node-positive patients compared with node-negative patients (37% versus 12%; P=0.005). Patients with MCC in the head and neck region experienced no distant recurrences, patients with MCC in the extremity and trunk region had a 5-year distant-recurrence CCI of 22%, and patients with occult primary had a 5-year distant-recurrence CCI of 49% (P=0.023). The 5-year DSS rate was 80% for pathologically node-negative patients. CONCLUSION: The prognosis for surgically managed early-stage MCC is variable. Thus multidisciplinary tumor-board consultation is needed to optimize individual patient management.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]