title: Merkel cell carcinoma: need for information and awareness. A case series of 47 patients from an Italian website.
abstract: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. The clinical experience with this tumor is generally limited. A sample of 47 cases of our series was collected from the website www.neuroendocrini.it. The data on these patients offer some insight into the difficulty of managing MCC as a result of inappropriate therapeutic approaches and neglect of exisiting recommendations, which may lead to poor survival associated with a very low quality of life. We have observed that networks can be useful for information sharing so that the needs of the patient can be met.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cirillo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015266:Carcinoma, Merkel Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D020407:Internet; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery