ArticleCancer medicine2023
Avelumab for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma-A multicenter real-world experience in Israel.
Article in Cancer medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 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
- Efficacy and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Sun-Exposed vs. Non-Sun-Exposed Areas: Epidemiology and Pathogenesis of Non-Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Understanding Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Pathogenic Signaling, Extracellular Matrix Dynamics, and Novel Treatment Approaches.Cancers · 2025Review
- Perform tumor-specific survival analysis for Merkel cell carcinoma patients undergoing surgical resection based on the SEER database by constructing a nomogram chart.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2025Article
- Targeted Drug Delivery in Periorbital Non-Melanocytic Skin Malignancies.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Hematology/oncology clinics of North America · 2024Review
- Review
- Opportunistic Infections and Immune-Related Adverse Events Associated with Administering Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Narrative Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Avelumab for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma-A multicenter real-world experience in Israel.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Avelumab for Advanced Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Global Real-World Data on Patient Response and Survival.Pragmatic and observational research · 2023Review
- Personalized treatment concepts in extraocular cancer.Advances in ophthalmology practice and researchReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy of the skin, affecting predominantly the fair-skinned older population exposed to high levels of ultraviolet light. Immune suppression is considered a significant risk factor. With the recent advances in the field of immunotherapy, the treatment paradigm for advanced MCC, traditionally based on chemotherapy, has largely shifted to anti-PD-L1 and PD-1 agents such as avelumab and pembrolizumab, respectively. However, real-world data remain sparse. The aim of this study was to assess real-world evidence of the effectiveness of avelumab in a diverse group of patients with MCC in Israel.
methodsThe electronic databases of five university hospitals in Israel were searched for all consecutive patients with MCC treated with at least one dose of avelumab in 2018-2022. Data on baseline, disease-related, treatment-related, and outcome parameters were collected and analyzed.
resultsThe cohort included 62 patients of whom 22% were immune-suppressed. The overall response rate to avelumab was 59%. The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months, and the median overall survival, 23.5 months, with no differences between immune-competent and immune-suppressed patients. Treatment was well tolerated; any-grade toxicity developed in 34% of patients, and grade 3-4 toxicity, in 14%.
conclusionsAvelumab was found to be effective and safe for the treatment of advanced MCC in a diverse group of patients, including some with immune suppression. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the optimal sequence and duration of treatment and to assess the potential role of avelumab for earlier stages of MCC.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.