Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38951767›Full record

ReviewBMC cancer2024

Dermoscopic characteristics of Merkel cell carcinoma.

Dimitra Koumaki, Georgios Evangelou, Alexander C Katoulis, Zoe Apalla, Aimilios Lallas, Marios Papadakis, Stamatios Gregoriou, Elizabeth Lazaridou, Konstantinos Krasagakis

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in BMC cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
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

9 authors.

Dimitra KoumakiDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, 71 500, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7074-2374
Georgios EvangelouDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, 71 500, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4468-446X
Alexander C Katoulis2nd Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Attikon" General University Hospital, Rimini 1, Haidari, Athens, 124 62, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8189-7486
Zoe Apalla2nd Department of Dermatology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Papageorgiou General Hospital, Agiou Pavlou 76, Pavlos Melas, Thessaloniki, 564 29, Greece.
Aimilios LallasFirst Department of Dermatology and Venereology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University, 124 Delfon str, Thessaloniki, 54645, Greece.
Marios PapadakisDepartment of Surgery II, Witten/Herdecke University, Heusnerstrasse 40, 42283, Witten, Germany. marios_papadakis@yahoo.gr.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9020-874X
Stamatios GregoriouDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, Andreas Sygros Hospital, Medical School of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, I. Dragoumi 5, Athens, 161 21, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7585-1032
Elizabeth Lazaridou2nd Department of Dermatology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Papageorgiou General Hospital, Agiou Pavlou 76, Pavlos Melas, Thessaloniki, 564 29, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4072-3591
Konstantinos KrasagakisDepartment of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, 71 500, Greece.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2197-2530

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive, cutaneous tumour with high mortality and frequently delayed diagnosis. Clinically, it often manifests as a rapidly growing erythematous to purple nodule usually located on the lower extremities or face and scalp of elderly patients. There is limited available data on the dermoscopic findings of MCC, and there are no specific features that can be used to definitively diagnose MCC. AIM OF THE STUDY: Here, we aimed to summarize existing published literature on dermatoscopic and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) features of MCC. MATERIALS AND

methodsTo find relevant studies, we searched the PubMed and Scopus databases from inception to April 12, 2023. Our goal was to identify all pertinent research that had been written in English. The following search strategy was employed: (" dermoscopy" OR " dermatoscopy" OR " videodermoscopy" OR " videodermatoscopy" OR " reflectance confocal microscopy") AND " Merkel cell carcinoma". Two dermatologists, DK and GE, evaluated the titles and abstracts separately for eligibility. For inclusion, only works written in English were taken into account.

resultsIn total 16 articles were retrieved (68 cases). The main dermoscopic findings of MCC are a polymorphous vascular pattern including linear irregular, arborizing, glomerular, and dotted vessels on a milky red background, with shiny or non-shiny white areas. Pigmentation was lacking in all cases. The RCM images showed a thin and disarranged epidermis, and small hypo-reflective cells that resembled lymphocytes arranged in solid aggregates outlined by fibrous tissue in the dermis. Additionally, there were larger polymorphic hyper-reflective cells that likely represented highly proliferative cells.

conclusionDermoscopic findings of MCC may play a valuable role in evaluating MCC, aiding in the early detection and differentiation from other skin lesions. Further prospective case-control studies are needed to validate these results.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Merkel CellDermoscopyMicroscopy, ConfocalSkin NeoplasmsHumansDermoscopyMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC)Neuroendocrine carcinomaPolymorphous vesselsPolyomavirusReflectance confocal microscopy (RCM)

Identifiers

PMID38951767
PMCPMC11218240

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Registered trials

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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.