Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29217527›Full record

ReviewClinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research2018

Merkel Cell Carcinoma in the Age of Immunotherapy: Facts and Hopes.

Aric Colunga, Thomas Pulliam, Paul Nghiem

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.5field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
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

53 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Merkel Cell Polyomavirus and DNA Damage Response.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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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

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Aric ColungaDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Thomas PulliamDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Paul NghiemDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. pnghiem@uw.edu.
University of Washington · USSeattle Cancer Care Alliance · US

Funding

University of Washington Medical Scientist Training Program: MD/PhDT32GM007266 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI HORWITZ, MARSHALL S. · 1985 to 2023
$30.4M
Viral oncoprotein targeted immune therapy for Merkel cell carcinomaR01CA176841 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI NGHIEM, PAUL · 2013 to 2016
$2.6M
Pathogenetic and prognostic studies for improved therapy of Merkel cell carcinomaK24CA139052 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI NGHIEM, PAUL · 2009 to 2018
$1.8M
NCI NIH HHS K24 CA139052NCI NIH HHS R01 CA176841NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007266
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare (∼2,000 U.S. cases/year) but aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin. For advanced MCC, cytotoxic chemotherapy only infrequently (<10% of cases) offers durable clinical responses (>1 year), suggesting a great need for improved therapeutic options. In 2008, the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) was discovered and is clonally integrated in approximately 80% of MCC tumors. The remaining 20% of MCC tumors have large numbers of UV-associated mutations. Importantly, both the UV-induced neoantigens in virus-negative tumors and the MCPyV T antigen oncogenes that are required for virus-positive tumor growth are immunogenic. Indeed, antigen-specific T cells detected in patients are frequently dysfunctional/"exhausted," and the inhibitory ligand, PD-L1, is often present in MCC tumors. These findings led to recent clinical trials involving PD-1 pathway blockade in advanced MCC. The combined data from these trials involving three PD-1 pathway blocking agents-avelumab, pembrolizumab, and nivolumab-indicated a high frequency of durable responses in treated patients. Of note, prior treatment with chemotherapy was associated with decreased response rates to PD-1 checkpoint blockade. Over the past year, these striking data led to major changes in advanced MCC therapy, including the first-ever FDA drug approval for this disease. Despite these successes, approximately 50% of patients with MCC do not persistently benefit from PD-1 pathway blockade, underscoring the need for novel strategies to broaden antitumor immune responses in these patients. Here, we highlight recent progress in MCC including the underlying mechanisms of immune evasion and emerging approaches to augment the efficacy of PD-1 pathway blockade.

Indexed as

ImmunotherapyAnimalsAntibodies, ViralAntigens, Viral, TumorAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBiomarkers, TumorCarcinoma, Merkel CellCombined Modality TherapyHumansImmunomodulationMerkel cell polyomavirusPolyomavirus InfectionsProgrammed Cell Death 1 ReceptorStandard of CareTumor BurdenTumor Virus InfectionsAntibodies, ViralAntigens, Viral, TumorBiomarkers, TumorPDCD1 protein, humanProgrammed Cell Death 1 Receptor

Identifiers

PMID29217527
PMCPMC5932211
OpenAlexW2773006694

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.