Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Adjuvant Radiation in Merkel Cell Cancer Beneficial? Real-World Data with Long-Term Follow-Up

Walid Shalata; Hanna T.Frumin Edri; Ina Sarel; Anna Ievko; Sofiia Turaieva; Tanzilya Tairov; Ilia Berezhnov; Shlomit Fenig; Eyal Fenig; Tomer Ziv-Baran; Alexander Yakobson; Ronen Brenner

doi:10.3390/cancers17060945

Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Adjuvant Radiation in Merkel Cell Cancer Beneficial? Real-World Data with Long-Term Follow-Up

Walid Shalata, Hanna T.Frumin Edri, Ina Sarel, Anna Ievko, Sofiia Turaieva, Tanzilya Tairov, Ilia Berezhnov, Shlomit Fenig, Eyal Fenig, Tomer Ziv-Baran, Alexander Yakobson, Ronen Brenner

Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the skin whose primary treatment modalities for non-metastatic disease are surgery and radiation. In cases of resectable MCC, the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation therapy is still debatable. According to this real-world study, adding chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation does not significantly improve overall or disease-free survival in these patients. However, even though their disease was significantly more advanced, the chemoradiation-treated group had similar survival outcomes. This could imply that some high-risk subgroups may benefit from this more aggressive strategy.

Original language	English
Article number	945
Journal	Cancers
Volume	17
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17060945
State	Published - 1 Mar 2025

Keywords

Merkel cell carcinoma
adjuvant therapy
chemotherapy
long-term outcomes
radiation therapy
survival analysis

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Oncology
Cancer Research

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.3390/cancers17060945

Cite this

@article{624ad1972244488a9f12dc0a7f6e3f09,

title = "Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Adjuvant Radiation in Merkel Cell Cancer Beneficial? Real-World Data with Long-Term Follow-Up",

abstract = "Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the skin whose primary treatment modalities for non-metastatic disease are surgery and radiation. In cases of resectable MCC, the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation therapy is still debatable. According to this real-world study, adding chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation does not significantly improve overall or disease-free survival in these patients. However, even though their disease was significantly more advanced, the chemoradiation-treated group had similar survival outcomes. This could imply that some high-risk subgroups may benefit from this more aggressive strategy.",

keywords = "Merkel cell carcinoma, adjuvant therapy, chemotherapy, long-term outcomes, radiation therapy, survival analysis",

author = "Walid Shalata and Edri, {Hanna T.Frumin} and Ina Sarel and Anna Ievko and Sofiia Turaieva and Tanzilya Tairov and Ilia Berezhnov and Shlomit Fenig and Eyal Fenig and Tomer Ziv-Baran and Alexander Yakobson and Ronen Brenner",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 by the authors.",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.3390/cancers17060945",

language = "الإنجليزيّة",

volume = "17",

journal = "Cancers",

issn = "2072-6694",

publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Adjuvant Radiation in Merkel Cell Cancer Beneficial? Real-World Data with Long-Term Follow-Up

AU - Shalata, Walid

AU - Edri, Hanna T.Frumin

AU - Sarel, Ina

AU - Ievko, Anna

AU - Turaieva, Sofiia

AU - Tairov, Tanzilya

AU - Berezhnov, Ilia

AU - Fenig, Shlomit

AU - Fenig, Eyal

AU - Ziv-Baran, Tomer

AU - Yakobson, Alexander

AU - Brenner, Ronen

PY - 2025/3/1

Y1 - 2025/3/1

N2 - Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the skin whose primary treatment modalities for non-metastatic disease are surgery and radiation. In cases of resectable MCC, the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation therapy is still debatable. According to this real-world study, adding chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation does not significantly improve overall or disease-free survival in these patients. However, even though their disease was significantly more advanced, the chemoradiation-treated group had similar survival outcomes. This could imply that some high-risk subgroups may benefit from this more aggressive strategy.

AB - Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the skin whose primary treatment modalities for non-metastatic disease are surgery and radiation. In cases of resectable MCC, the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation therapy is still debatable. According to this real-world study, adding chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation does not significantly improve overall or disease-free survival in these patients. However, even though their disease was significantly more advanced, the chemoradiation-treated group had similar survival outcomes. This could imply that some high-risk subgroups may benefit from this more aggressive strategy.

KW - Merkel cell carcinoma

KW - adjuvant therapy

KW - chemotherapy

KW - long-term outcomes

KW - radiation therapy

KW - survival analysis

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105001125766&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/cancers17060945

DO - 10.3390/cancers17060945

M3 - مقالة

C2 - 40149282

SN - 2072-6694

VL - 17

JO - Cancers

JF - Cancers

IS - 6

M1 - 945

ER -

Is the Addition of Chemotherapy to Adjuvant Radiation in Merkel Cell Cancer Beneficial? Real-World Data with Long-Term Follow-Up

Abstract

Keywords

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this