The Role of Postoperative Radiation and Chemoradiation in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to investigate whether adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapeutics offered any additional benefit than surgery alone in the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). Methods: A PubMed, MEDLINE search was conducted between 1995-2013, to identify reported cases of surgically treated MCC followed by either observation, radiation, or chemoradiation. Patient demographics and outcomes were recorded and compared in a systematic fashion. Results: Thirty-four studies (n = 4475) were included. The median age was 73 years, median follow-up was 36 months and there was a 1.5:1 ratio of men to women. All 4475 patients had surgery, 1975 had no further treatment, 1689 received postoperative RT, and 301 received postoperative chemoRT. The most common site was face/head/neck, 47.8%. Stage 1 was the most common clinical stage at diagnosis (57%). Three-year LC was 20% [median 10%] in the observation cohort, compared to 65% [62%] with postoperative RT and 67% [75%] with postoperative chemoRT; these findings were statistically significant (P