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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Deborah Zihler, Kathrin Vollmer, Antonio Cozzio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: THE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD. 2019-09-01
Series:healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.36000/hbT.OH.2019.01.003
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846126497650180096
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.
format Article
id doaj-art-58833ef751a9451db5cde31c6ae06c4c
institution Kabale University
issn 2673-2106
language English
publishDate 2019-09-01
publisher THE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD.
record_format Article
series healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology
spelling doaj-art-58833ef751a9451db5cde31c6ae06c4c2024-12-12T17:11:18ZengTHE HEALTHBOOK COMPANY LTD.healthbook TIMES. Oncology Hematology2673-21062019-09-0111Long-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
work_keys_str_mv AT deborahzihler longtermsustaineddiseasecontrolwithimmunotherapyinchemotherapyrefractorymerkelcellcarcinoma
AT kathrinvollmer longtermsustaineddiseasecontrolwithimmunotherapyinchemotherapyrefractorymerkelcellcarcinoma
AT antoniocozzio longtermsustaineddiseasecontrolwithimmunotherapyinchemotherapyrefractorymerkelcellcarcinoma