title: Adjuvant radiation therapy increases disease-free survival in stage IB Merkel cell carcinoma.
abstract: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive cutaneous malignancy. Adjuvant radiation increases survival in advanced stages, but efficacy in stage I disease is unknown. A retrospective review included all patients treated for stage I MCC during a 15-year period at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Among 42 patients, 26 (62%) had a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy (stage IA) and 16 (38%) had clinically negative lymph nodes (stage IB) at the time of resection. Analysis using Cox regression revealed that higher stage and absence of adjuvant radiation are associated with increased disease recurrence (hazard ratio, 6.29; P=0.003 and hazard ratio, 4.69; P=0.013, respectively). Controlling for stage, radiation therapy significantly increased disease-free survival among patients with stage IB disease (P=0.0026) in a log-rank test comparing Kaplan-Meier curves. These findings support adjuvant radiation therapy in stage IB MCC patients with clinically negative lymph nodes who do not undergo sentinel lymph node biopsy.
authors: From *Division of General Surgery, †Department of Plastic Surgery, ‡School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN; §Division of Plastic Surgery, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY; and ∥Division of Surgical Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
authors: Kevin W
authors: KW
authors: Sexton
authors: Stephen P
authors: SP
authors: Poteet
authors: John Bradford
authors: JB
authors: Hill
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Schmidt
authors: Ashit
authors: A
authors: Patel
authors: Gabriel A
authors: GA
authors: Del Corral
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Axt
authors: Mark C
authors: MC
authors: Kelley
authors: Wesley P
authors: WP
authors: Thayer
authors: Robert Bruce
authors: RB
authors: Shack
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015266:Carcinoma, Merkel Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D060726:Torso; D016896:Treatment Outcome