ArticleJournal for immunotherapy of cancer2022
Real-world clinical outcomes with avelumab in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma treated in the USA: a multicenter chart review study.
Article in Journal for immunotherapy of cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Avelumab real-world use in advanced Merkel cell carcinoma: a systematic review and non-comparative meta-analysis.Future oncology (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Phase 2 trial of perioperative chemo-immunotherapy for gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma: The role of M2 macrophage landscape in predicting response.Cell reports. Medicine · 2025Trial
- Pembrolizumab for the First-Line Treatment of Recurrent Locally Advanced or Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Results from the Single-Arm, Open-Label, Phase III KEYNOTE-913 Study.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2024Trial
- Real-world outcomes of patients receiving salvage therapies for immune checkpoint inhibitor-resistant Merkel cell carcinoma: a rationale for future clinical trials.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2025Article
- Management and Outcomes of Merkel Cell Carcinoma in Canada Between 2000 and 2018 from the Pan-Canadian Merkel Cell Collaborative.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Improved survival at the population level for patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma following availability of immunotherapy.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2025Article
- Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas: A Comparative Analysis of Primary Versus Secondary Tumors-A Literature Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Understanding Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Pathogenic Signaling, Extracellular Matrix Dynamics, and Novel Treatment Approaches.Cancers · 2025Review
- Intratumoral STING agonist reverses immune evasion in PD-(L)1-refractory Merkel cell carcinoma: mechanistic insights from detailed biomarker analyses.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2024Article
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Hematology/oncology clinics of North America · 2024Review
- Safety and effectiveness of avelumab in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma in general clinical practice in Japan: Post-marketing surveillance.The Journal of dermatology · 2024Article
- High-volume facilities are significantly more likely to use guideline-adherent systemic immunotherapy for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: implications for cancer care regionalization.Archives of dermatological research · 2024Article
- Merkel cell carcinoma: updates in tumor biology, emerging therapies, and preclinical models.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Review
- Avelumab for Advanced Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Global Real-World Data on Patient Response and Survival.Pragmatic and observational research · 2023Review
- PD-1 and PD-L1: architects of immune symphony and immunotherapy breakthroughs in cancer treatment.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- LAMP1 targeting of the large T antigen of Merkel cell polyomavirus results in potent CD4 T cell responses and tumor inhibition.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Ipilimumab plus nivolumab in avelumab-refractory Merkel cell carcinoma: a multicenter study of the prospective skin cancer registry ADOREG.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2022Article
- Personalized treatment concepts in extraocular cancer.Advances in ophthalmology practice and researchReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive, cutaneous neuroendocrine neoplasm with annual incidence rates of 0.13-1.6 cases/100,000/year worldwide as of 2018. Chemotherapy for metastatic MCC (mMCC) has high objective response rates (ORRs), but responses are not durable and overall survival (OS) is poor. Avelumab (anti-programmed death-ligand 1) has demonstrated meaningful survival benefit and durable responses in clinical trials for mMCC. This study investigated real-world clinical outcomes in avelumab-treated patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) MCC in US academic medical centers.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with advanced MCC who initiated avelumab between March 1, 2017, and July 31, 2019, at six US academic centers. Data were requested for eligible patients from index date through December 31, 2020. Descriptive analyses were conducted to assess demographic and clinical characteristics, real-world ORR (rwORR), real-world duration of response, real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS), and OS.
resultsNinety patients with advanced MCC (82%, stage IV; 18%, stage IIIB) received avelumab. Median follow-up was 20.8 months (95% CI: 19.1 to 24.2). Median age was 68 years (range, 48-83), and the majority of patients were men (58%) and white (93%). The primary tumor was most commonly located on the lower limb (38%), with metastases mostly located in lymph nodes (68%), lung (52%), and viscera (52%). Approximately 42% and 26% of patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2 and 3, respectively. Seventy-three patients (81%) received avelumab as first-line treatment of advanced MCC, while 17 (19%) received avelumab as second-line or later treatment. The median duration of avelumab treatment was 13.5 months (95% CI: 6.4 to 30.6), with 42% of patients still receiving avelumab by the end of follow-up. Patients with avelumab treatment had an rwORR of 73% (95% CI: 64 to 83), median rwPFS of 24.4 months (95% CI: 8.31 to not estimable (NE)), and median OS of 30.7 months (95% CI: 11.2 to NE).
conclusionsThis real-world study of patients with advanced MCC demonstrated that avelumab treatment resulted in a high response rate with durable responses and prolonged survival. The study findings validate the results demonstrated in prospective clinical trials and other observational studies.
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