Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41168606›Full record

ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2026

Recurrence and Survival Outcomes in Patients with Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma with Positive, Negative, or Not Performed Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy.

Michelle M Dugan, Caitlyn Balsay-Patel, Nicholas Chin, Jacob Israeli, Kimberly R Ward, Matthew Nichols, Stephanie Greenbaum, Wenyi Fan, C Wayne Cruse, Michael Harrington and 14 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

24 authors.

Michelle M Dugan *Department of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Caitlyn Balsay-Patel *Department of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Nicholas ChinUniversity of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
Jacob IsraeliUniversity of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
Kimberly R WardDepartments of Pathology and Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Matthew NicholsDepartments of Pathology and Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Stephanie GreenbaumDepartments of Pathology and Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Wenyi FanDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
C Wayne CruseDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Michael HarringtonDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Rogerio I NevesDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Ricardo J GonzalezDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Matthew C PerezDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Amod A SarnaikDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Vernon K SondakDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Jane L MessinaDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Ahmad A TarhiniDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Nikhil KhushalaniDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Andrew S BrohlDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Joseph MarkowitzDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Zeynep ErogluDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Lilit KarapetyanDepartment of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Kenneth Y Tsai *Department of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Jonathan S Zager *Department of Cutaneous Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA. jonathan.zager@moffitt.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-4468

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive cutaneous malignancy. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) might be omitted for various reasons, such as comorbidities. This study evaluates the recurrence and survival in MCC for patients with different SLNB status.

methodsA retrospective review included patients from 1999 to 2024 with clinical N0, resectable MCC.

resultsA total of 696 patients were identified (median age 76 years; 68% male). Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 75%, and 35% of patients had a positive SLNB. Reasons for omission of SLNB included comorbidities (34%), patient choice (31%), lack of lymphoscintigraphy drainage (18%), and other/unknown (17%). Patients who omitted SLNB were older (79 vs. 75 years, P < .001) and more likely to experience recurrence (58% vs. 30%, P < .001). Median follow-up was 3 years. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) (4.2 years vs. 8.8 months, P < .0001), disease-specific survival (DSS) (not reached for either, P < .0001), and overall survival (OS) (6.8 vs. 3.6 years, P < .0001) were longer for patients who underwent SLNB. On multivariable analysis, RFS (HR 2.0, P < .001), DSS (HR 1.7, P = .01), and OS (HR 1.3, P = .04) remained longer for patients who underwent SLNB.

conclusionsPatients with MCC who omitted SLNB had significantly worse RFS, DSS, and OS than those who underwent SLNB. This study supports the role of SLNB for MCC whenever feasible, with great utility in staging and a positive trend on recurrence and survival.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Merkel CellNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalSentinel Lymph Node BiopsySkin NeoplasmsAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRetrospective StudiesSurvival RateMerkel cell carcinomaRecurrenceSentinel lymph node biopsySurvival

Identifiers

PMID41168606

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.