News & Publications

These researchers used a large database to analyze the outcomes of patients who received radiation therapy (RT), lymph node surgery (CLND; ‘completion lymph node dissection’), or a combination of both (RT+CLND). They found that overall survival rates were similar among patients who received each...

This study compared two surgical approaches, wide local excision (WLE) and Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). The researchers found no significant difference in overall survival or MCC-specific survival between the two approaches. However, MMS has other...

The 17th Annual MMIG Meeting ttok place on Friday, March 17th in New Orleans and over Zoom. The MCC Multi-center Merkel Interest Group is an international collection of clinicians, scientists, and trainees across various medical institutions who are dedicated to improving MCC patient care by studyi...

This study from France analyzed 15 cases of MCC in which the patients had a history of kidney transplant and thus were taking immune suppressive drugs. The authors found that 10 out of 15 of these MCC tumors were not caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Of the 10 virus-negative MCC tumors...

The annual update of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for MCC has just been posted.

On March 22, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to retifanlimab-dlwr (Zynyz, Incyte Corporation) for adult patients with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). This agent joins avelumab and pembrolizumab as approved therapies for MCC. ...

In this population-based study of nearly 10,000 US patients with MCC, the authors found that Black patients are less likely to develop MCC than those with less skin pigmentation (about 6% of MCC cases were in Black patients, who make up about 15% of the US population). Black patients presented more ...

In this study of 40 patients from Australia with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, the authors found that about one third of patients had their MCC return within the first year of stopping immunotherapy. They also noted that if therapy extended longer, there appeared to be more protection from recur...

This article from the Boston Globe tells the story of HIV activist and MCC patient, Stewart Landers, and his efforts to raise awareness of MCC. He has been an advocate for improved accessibility to treatment for HIV patients who are often excluded from potentially life-saving clinical trials.

The 7th Nordic Merkel Cell Carcinoma Meeting will take place in Stockholm, Sweden on September 14-15, 2023. The preliminary program includes 4 different themes: Merkel cell polyomavirus and oncogenesis, Merkel cell carcinoma biology, Biomarkers, and Immunotherapy & clinical trials.