Improved survival at the population level for patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma following availability of immunotherapy - 18/06/25
Abstract |
Background |
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer with poor survival rates. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) were Food and Drug Administration-approved for advanced MCC in 2017, but their real-world survival impact remains unclear.
Objective |
Evaluate whether ICI introduction in the United States corresponded with improved survival.
Methods |
This cohort study analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data for MCC patients diagnosed from 2010 to 2021, grouped by 3-year periods, to calculate 2-year overall and relative survival.
Results |
For 453 patients with metastatic MCC, 2-year relative survival improved from 23% (2010-2012) to 37% (2013-2015), 42% (2016-2018), and 54% (2019-2021) ( P < .001). Median overall survival also increased from 9 to 16 months among these patients. In 4786 MCC patients overall, 2-year relative survival rose from 73% (2010-2012) to 81% (2019-2021) ( P = .004), while overall survival improved from 67% to 72% ( P = .012).
Limitations |
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results lacks case-level data to link ICI treatment directly to survival, although ICIs represent the major recent treatment advance for MCC.
Conclusions |
The introduction of ICIs aligns with a >2-fold increase in survival for advanced MCC patients at the population level, translating to ∼220 fewer deaths per year in the United States
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key words : immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunotherapy, Merkel cell carcinoma, overall survival, PD-(L)-1 inhibitor, relative survival, SEER, survival
Abbreviations used : ICI, MCC, OS, RS, SEER
Plan
| Drs Paulson and Park are co-primary authors. |
|
| Funding sources: P01 CA225517 (“ Immunobiology and Immune Therapy for Merkel Cell Carcinoma ”), P30 CA015704 ( NIH / NCI Cancer Center Support), Kelsey Dickson Team Science Courage Research Award Prostate Cancer Foundation , MCC Gift Fund (University of Washington), Paul G. Allen Research Center at Swedish Cancer Institute , Swedish Cancer Institute Foundation . |
|
| Patient consent: Consent was waived by the Providence-St. Joseph Health IRB (IRB2020000564) due to the use of de-identified data and minimal risk. |
|
| IRB approval status: This study was approved by the Providence-St. Joseph Health Institutional Review Board (IRB2020000564). |
Vol 93 - N° 1
P. 89-94 - juillet 2025 Retour au numéro
Article précédent
- Sofpironium topical gel, 12.45%, for the treatment of axillary hyperhidrosis: Pooled efficacy and safety results from 2 phase 3 randomized, controlled, double-blind studies
- David Pariser, Dee Anna Glaser, James Del Rosso, Neal Bhatia, Deirdre Hooper, Mark S. Nestor, Stacy Smith, Joel Schlessinger, Adelaide Hebert, Patricia S. Walker
- Long-term safety and efficacy of delgocitinib cream for up to 52 weeks in adults with Chronic Hand Eczema: Results of the phase 3 open-label extension DELTA 3 trial following the DELTA 1 and 2 trials
- Melinda Gooderham, Sonja Molin, Robert Bissonnette, Margitta Worm, Marie-Noëlle Crépy, Luca Stingeni, Richard B. Warren, Sibylle Schliemann, Marie-Louise Schuttelaar, Silvia Ferrucci, Esther Serra-Baldrich, Jonathan I. Silverberg, Cherry Lou Balita-Crisostomo, Marie Louise Østerdal, Ursula Plohberger, Tove Agner
Bienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
L’accès au texte intégral de cet article nécessite un abonnement.
Déjà abonné à cette revue ?