ArticleCancer medicine2022
Lymph node ratio predicts efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy in nonmetastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: A population-based analysis.
Article in Cancer medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness and Safety of Treatments for Early-Stage Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized and Non-Randomized Studies.Cancer medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the Hand.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2026Article
- Analysis of factors associated with the prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer and the construction of a survival model.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the External Ear: Population-Based Analysis and Survival Outcomes.Cancers · 2022Article
- Lymph node ratio predicts efficacy of postoperative radiation therapy in nonmetastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: A population-based analysis.Cancer medicine · 2022Article
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10 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAfter radical resection of a nonmetastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (M0 MCC), postoperative radiation therapy (RT) is recommended as it improves survival. However, the role of RT in specific subgroups of M0 MCC is unclear. We sought to identify whether there is a differential survival benefit from RT in specific M0 MCC patient subgroups.
methodsM0 MCC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database registry were collected. The best prognostic age, tumor size, and lymph node ratio (LNR, ratio between positive lymph nodes and resected lymph nodes) cutoffs were calculated. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).
resultsA total of 5644 M0 MCC patients (median age 77 years, 62% male) were included: 4022 (71%) node-negative (N0) and 1551 (28%) node-positive (N+). Overall, 2682 patients (48%) received RT. Age > 76.5 years, tumor size >13.5 mm, and LNR >0.215 were associated with worse OS. RT was associated with longer OS in the M0 MCC, N0, and N+ group and independently associated with a 25%, 27%, and 26% reduction in the risk for death, respectively. RT benefit on survival was increased in tumor size >13.5 mm in the N0 group and LNR >0.215 in the N+ group. No OS benefit from RT was observed in T4 tumors (N0 and N+ groups).
conclusionsRT was associated with improved survival in M0 MCC, irrespective of the nodal status. LNR >0.215 is a useful prognostic factor for clinical decision-making and for stratification and interpretation of clinical trials.
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