Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Merkel Cell Carcinoma in a Series of 38 Patients

BACKGROUNDMerkel cell carcinoma is a rare yet aggressive cutaneous tumor with a poor prognosis. Few studies have analyzed series of patients from the same hospital. METHODOLOGYWe performed a retrospective, descriptive, observational study of all patients diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma at a tertiary care hospital between 2002 and 2017. We recorded epidemiological, clinical, and histologic data and information on treatments and survival. For analysis, the sample was divided into 2 groups from different periods: 2002-2009 and 2010-2017. We performed survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTSThirty-eight patients (24 men and 14 women) with a mean age of 77.76 years were included. Mean follow-up time was 30.11 months. On comparing 2010-2017 with 2002-2009, we observed a 116% increase in the number of Merkel cell carcinoma cases (26 vs. 12), an older mean age at diagnosis (80.92 vs. 70.92 years, P