Laude et al., "High levels of antibodies against
Merkel cell polyomavirus identify a subset of patients with
Merkel cell carcinoma with better clinical outcome," Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol.
Effect of radiation therapy on survival in patients with resected
Merkel cell carcinoma: a propensity score surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database analysis.
Merkel cell carcinoma metastatic to the head of the pancreas.
Merkel cell carcinoma during treatment with TNF-alpha inhibitors: coincidence or warning?.
A virus called
Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) is suspected to contribute to the development of the majority of MCC.
Ordinarily, contact with the skin surface activates Ruffini corpuscle endings and Merkel cell-neurite complexes, with the
Merkel cells producing long-lasting nerve impulses.
Epidemiology of primary
Merkel cell carcinoma in the United States [published correction appears in I Am Acad Dermatol.
Characterized as a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine cutaneous cancer,
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) most commonly occurs in the head and neck region of elderly and immunocompromised patients.
Bladder cancer and seroreactivity to BK, JC and
Merkel cell polyomaviruses: The Spanish bladder cancer study.
For
Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare type of skin cancer, current smokers had a worse survival rate than those who had never smoked, though the difference was not statistically significant.
Differential diagnosis in this case includes the possibility of the lung mass being a metastases from a primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin (
Merkel cell carcinoma, primary small cell carcinoma of the skin)--an uncommon but aggressive skin tumor with a propensity to metastasize to the lung.
These include WU (WUPyV), KI (KIPyV),
Merkel cell (MCPyV), and Malawi (MWPyV) PyVs, all of which have been detected in respiratory secretions, particularly from children (3).