Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and difficult-to-treat cutaneous malignancy with a poor prognosis. Treatment protocols for localized MCC are well established. Until recently, metastatic MCC has generally been treated with chemotherapy, which was often associated with poor clinical responses an...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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THE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD.
2019-09-01
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| Series: | healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.36000/hbT.OH.2019.01.003 |
| _version_ | 1797266490528890880 |
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| author | Deborah Zihler Kathrin Vollmer Antonio Cozzio |
| author_facet | Deborah Zihler Kathrin Vollmer Antonio Cozzio |
| author_sort | Deborah Zihler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and difficult-to-treat cutaneous malignancy with a poor prognosis. Treatment protocols for localized MCC are well established. Until recently, metastatic MCC has generally been treated with chemotherapy, which was often associated with poor clinical responses and significant toxicity. In this report, the case of a patient with metastatic MCC who received avelumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, after an inadequate response to first-line radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is presented. Nine months after the initiation of the treatment with avelumab, the patient achieved a partial remission with no treatment-related adverse events. After a follow-up of 17 months, a systematically ongoing partial response was reported. In conclusion, this case study offers a clinical insight into the patient’s case and highlights the importance of immunotherapy as a first-line therapy for metastatic MCC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:01:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-58833ef751a9451db5cde31c6ae06c4c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-2092 2673-2106 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:01:31Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | THE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology |
| spelling | doaj.art-58833ef751a9451db5cde31c6ae06c4c2024-03-10T23:27:41ZengTHE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD.healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology2673-20922673-21062019-09-0111Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell CarcinomaDeborah ZihlerKathrin VollmerAntonio CozzioMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and difficult-to-treat cutaneous malignancy with a poor prognosis. Treatment protocols for localized MCC are well established. Until recently, metastatic MCC has generally been treated with chemotherapy, which was often associated with poor clinical responses and significant toxicity. In this report, the case of a patient with metastatic MCC who received avelumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, after an inadequate response to first-line radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is presented. Nine months after the initiation of the treatment with avelumab, the patient achieved a partial remission with no treatment-related adverse events. After a follow-up of 17 months, a systematically ongoing partial response was reported. In conclusion, this case study offers a clinical insight into the patient’s case and highlights the importance of immunotherapy as a first-line therapy for metastatic MCC.https://doi.org/10.36000/hbT.OH.2019.01.003 |
| spellingShingle | Deborah Zihler Kathrin Vollmer Antonio Cozzio Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology |
| title | Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_full | Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_fullStr | Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_short | Long-Term Sustained Disease Control with Immunotherapy in Chemotherapy-Refractory Merkel Cell Carcinoma |
| title_sort | long term sustained disease control with immunotherapy in chemotherapy refractory merkel cell carcinoma |
| url | https://doi.org/10.36000/hbT.OH.2019.01.003 |
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