ReviewCancers2025
Merkel Cell Carcinoma: An Updated Review Focused on Bone and Bone Marrow Metastases.
Review in Cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Revolutionizing dermatopathology using AI in skin diagnostics: scoping review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Complete Response to Avelumab Immunotherapy.Clinical case reports · 2026Article
- Cutaneous-Tropism Viruses: Unraveling Pathogenetic Mechanisms and Immunoprophylactic Strategies.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Rapidly Progressive Merkel Cell Carcinoma with Atypical Metastatic Pattern-A Case Report and Brief Literature Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- EmergingFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma Incidentally Detected on PSMA PET/CT in a Patient With Metastatic Prostate Cancer.Case reports in radiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
20 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesDespite advancements in early diagnosis and clinical practices guided by standardized care protocols, Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is marked by an unfavorable prognosis with a 5-year relative survival rate of 65%, based primarily on data collected prior to the introduction of immunotherapy. Regional nodal metastases affect 40-50% of MCC patients, while approximately 33% experience distant dissemination. Among these, bone and bone marrow metastases are particularly notable, although the characteristics and clinical implications of this metastatic disease in MCC remain poorly understood.
methodsA comprehensive review was conducted using the Medline database (via PubMed) up to January 2025. The search strategy included the string "(Merkel cell carcinoma AND (bone OR marrow))".
resultsA total of 1133 (69.3% male and 30.7% female) patients diagnosed with advanced MCC were collected. The median (IQR) age at diagnosis was 67.5 (12.65) years old. Overall, 201 (20.8%) cases of bone and/or bone marrow metastases were identified and linked to a primary known MCC in 75.7% of cases. Bone metastases (BMs) appear as the third most common metastatic site, following the liver (second) and lymph nodes (first). They show mixed biological and radiological behavior, with a marked preference for the axial skeleton over the appendicular one. Addressing the characteristics of metastatic bone disease, neurological symptoms were the most documented, whereas bone marrow involvement and leukemic spread seemed to be primarily related to immunosuppression. Multimodal treatment strategies, including platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy, were the primary approaches adopted, reflecting therapeutic practices from the pre-immunotherapy era.
conclusionsThe pattern of metastatic spread in MCC differs among studies, with the bones resulting as the third most common site of distant spread. Excluding head and neck MCC, which seems to be more regularly associated with liver metastases, the relationship between the primary tumor site and the development of bone or bone marrow metastases appears inconsistent. Overall, BMs mostly correlated with advanced MCC stages and poorer survival outcomes, with a median overall survival (OS) of 8 months (range 12.75-4). The integration of international guidelines, evolving evidence from clinical trials, and the expanding role of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) will contribute to improving systemic disease control and enhance patient care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.