ArticleCancers2021
Merkel Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary: Immunohistochemical and Molecular Analyses Reveal Distinct UV-Signature/MCPyV-Negative and High Immunogenicity/MCPyV-Positive Profiles.
Article in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of merkel cell polyomavirus positivity on prognosis of merkel cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Primary Merkel cell carcinoma of the submandibular region without cutaneous lesion: a case report.Archives of craniofacial surgery · 2026Article
- A 30-Year Single-Centre Series of Unknown Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Management and Prognosis.Cancers · 2026Article
- Methylation profiling: a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of Merkel cell carcinoma of the lymph node without detectable skin primary tumor.Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2025Article
- Parotid intranodal metastasis of Merkel cell carcinoma: a rare case report.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Review
- Article
- The prognostic role of PD-L1 expression and the presence of polyomavirus in Merkel cell carcinoma cases.Infectious agents and cancer · 2024Article
- Review
- Nodal Merkel Cell Carcinoma with Unknown Primary Site and No Distant Metastasis: A Single-Center Series.Cancers · 2022Article
- Update from the 5th Edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Head and Neck Tumors: The Neck and Lymph Nodes, Metastasis, and Melanocytic Tumors.Head and neck pathology · 2022Review
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma from Molecular Pathology to Novel Therapies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Antiviral Responses in Cancer: Boosting Antitumor Immunity Through Activation of Interferon Pathway in the Tumor Microenvironment.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMerkel cell carcinomas of unknown primary (MCC-UPs) are defined as deep-seated tumors without an associated cutaneous tumor. Although the distinction has important clinical implications, it remains unclear whether these tumors represent primary tumors of lymph nodes or metastatic cutaneous primaries.
methodsWe compared the immunohistochemical profiles of four groups of MCCs (Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)-positive UP, MCPyV-negative UP, MCPyV-positive known primary (KP), and MCPyV-negative KP) using B-cell and pre-B-cell markers, cell cycle regulating proteins, follicular stem cell markers, and immune markers, and performed next generation and Sanger sequencing.
resultsVirus-positive and virus-negative MCC-UPs exhibited an immunoprofile similar to virus-positive and virus-negative primary cutaneous MCCs, respectively. MCC-UP tumors (both virus-positive and -negative) were immunogenic with similar or even higher tumoral PD-L1 expression and intratumoral CD8 and FoxP3 infiltrates in comparison to MCPyV-positive cutaneous tumors. In addition, similar to primary cutaneous MCCs, MCPyV-negative MCC-UPs exhibited UV signatures and frequent high tumor mutational burdens, whereas few molecular alterations were noted in MCPyV-positive MCC-UPs.
conclusionsOur results showed distinct UV-signatures in MCPyV-negative tumors and high immunogenicity in MCPyV-positive tumors. Although additional studies are warranted for the MCPyV-positive cases, our findings are supportive of a cutaneous metastatic origin for MCPyV-negative MCC-UP tumors.
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