Outcomes of Merkel Cell Carcinoma in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Blockade
August 24, 2024
Journal
Annals of Surgical Oncology
Publication Date
August 24, 2024
Authors
Merkelcell.org Summary
Immunotherapy is a drug that boosts the immune system and is often used to treat Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) that has spread from the original location (advanced MCC). Clinical trials have shown that immunotherapy is effective at treating MCC, and this study aimed to see whether overall, MCC patients have higher survival rates now compared back before immunotherapy was approved for MCC in 2015. By studying around 4,000 patients who received treatment before immunotherapy was approved (2008-2011) and around 6,500 patients who received treatment after immunotherapy had been approved (2015-2018) from a large nationwide cancer database (NCDB), they found that patients treated since the approval of immunotherapy had significantly better outcomes. This difference was especially large for patients who had advanced MCC, with 34.1% of advanced MCC patients surviving beyond 5-years before immunotherapy was approved, up to 42.9% after immunotherapy approval. This data supports all the evidence showing that immunotherapy is beneficial for advanced MCC patients and encourages more progress in using immunotherapy to treat MCC.
Abstract
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine-like tumor of the skin with a historically dismal prognosis. The advent of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents has led to a marked improvement in the recurrence and survival rates for metastatic MCC as demonstrated in multiple clinical trials. Despite these promising results, there is a lack of real-world data on the overall impact of these newer immunotherapies on patients with MCC. We examine a national cohort to assess the impact of ICB on the prognosis for MCC, which can inform clinicians in counseling patients with this rare skin cancer.