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

UN SDGs

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

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

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

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Oncology
Cancer Research

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

UN SDGs

Keywords

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this