Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24294591›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in oncology2013

The role of postoperative radiation and chemoradiation in merkel cell carcinoma: a systematic review of the literature.

Shaakir Hasan, Liyu Liu, Jacob Triplet, Zhen Li, David Mansur

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in oncology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Version 1.2018, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · 2018
    Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Merkel cell carcinoma: long-term outcomes after radiotherapy treatment.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
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  8. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene therapy in lung cancer.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2023
    Review
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  13. "Present and future of immunotherapy in Neuroendocrine Tumors".Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2021
    Review
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  17. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Shaakir HasanCollege of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University , Fort Lauderdale, FL , USA.
Liyu Liu
Jacob Triplet
Zhen Li
David Mansur

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveA systematic review of the literature was undertaken to investigate whether adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapeutics offered any additional benefit than surgery alone in the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC).

methodsA PubMed, MEDLINE search was conducted between 1995 and 2013, to identify reported cases of surgically treated MCC followed by either observation, radiation, or chemoradiation. Patient demographics and outcomes were recorded and compared in a systematic fashion.

resultsThirty-four studies (n = 4475) were included. The median age was 73 years, median follow up was 36 months and there was a 1.5:1 ratio of men to women. All 4475 patients had surgery, 1975 had no further treatment, 1689 received postoperative RT, and 301 received postoperative chemoRT. The most common site was face/head/neck, 47.8%. Stage 1 was the most common clinical stage at diagnosis (57%). Three-year local control was 20% (median 10%) in the observation cohort, compared to 65% (62%) with postoperative RT, and 67% (75%) with postoperative chemoRT; these findings were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Recurrence was found to be 38% (60%) in the observation cohort, compared to 23% (20%) with postoperative RT (P < 0.001). Three-year overall survival (OS) was found to be 56% (57%) in the observation cohort, compared to 70% (78%) with postoperative RT and 73% (76%) with postoperative chemoRT (P < 0.001). The observation cohort had a median OS of 44 months compared with 64 months (P < 0.001) in the postoperative RT cohort. There was no statistically significant difference in any parameters assessed between postoperative radiation and postoperative chemoradiation arms.

conclusionThe comprehensive collection of retrospective data suggests a survival and control benefit for postoperative radiation in MCC. No differences were noted between adjuvant radiation and chemoradiation. This analysis indicates the need for prospective trials with patients stratified by known prognostic factors.

Indexed as

adjuvant radiotherapychemoradiationMerkel cell carcinomapostoperative radiation Merkelreview

Identifiers

PMID24294591
PMCPMC3827544

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.