Merckel cell carcinoma of the skin treated with somatostatin analogue and mTOR inhibitor exhausted after primary surgery, adjuvant radiotherapy and palliative chemotherapy

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive neuroendocrine skin tumor. This type of tumor is primarily based on Merkel cells located in the basal layer of the epidermis. The tumor occurs predominantly in elderly individuals (average age 69 years) and has a strong tendency to local recurrence and locoregional metastasis. Diagnosis of the tumor is based on histological and immunohistochemical examination. The therapy is radical surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy to the site of the primary tumor and regional lymph nodes. The authors describe a case report of Merkel cell carcinoma of the skin treated with somatostatin analogue and mTOR inhibitor exhausted after primary surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy and paliative chemotherapy (Fig. 2, Ref. 17). Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

Somatostatin Receptors in Merkel-Cell Carcinoma: A Therapeutic Opportunity Using Somatostatin Analog Alone or in Association With Checkpoint Inhibitors Immunotherapy. A Case Report

“…Considering the expression of these receptors, this tumor may be candidate for SSAs therapy. To our knowledge, the use of SSAs in MCC has been little investigated with only three cases published in English literature and disappointing results were reported (14). No cases treated with SSAs plus checkpoints inhibitors have been published until now.…”

“…More recently, direct anti-proliferative effects of SSAs have also been demonstrated in neuroendocrine neoplasms (13). The use of SSA in MCC has been little studied (14) and cases of MCC treated with SSA in combination with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy have not been published yet.…”

Avancées thérapeutiques récentes dans la prise en charge du carcinome à cellules de Merkel

“…Une série de 5 patients présentant un carcinome à cellules de Merkel métastatique a rapporté une efficacité du traitement par inhibiteur de tyrosine kinase ciblant le VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) (pazopanib n=4 et cabozantinib n=1) [41]. Un cas de réponse après analogue de la somatostatine seul [42] et un cas en association avec un inhibiteur de mTor [43] ont été décrits. Plusieurs études sont en cours afin de tester l'efficacité de ces traitements (NCT02514824).…”