ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2026
Local Recurrence Following Complete Surgical Excision of Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma.
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 4 papers.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- One dose of adjuvant 8 Gray postoperative radiotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma excised with narrow margins: Low toxicity and comparable efficacy to conventional radiotherapy.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2026Article
- Editorial: The Critical Role of Surgery for Local Disease Control and Nodal Assessment in Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- ASO Author Reflections: Characterizing the Natural History of Merkel Cell Carcinoma.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Case Report: The role of nodal staging in periocular merkel cell carcinoma - lessons from three cases.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon neuroendocrine cutaneous malignancy considered to have a high risk of local recurrence (LR). We investigated the true risk of LR in patients with MCC treated by surgical excision alone. PATIENTS AND
methodsPatients with clinically localized MCC excised with pathologically negative surgical margins were identified from a prospectively maintained single-institution database from November 1980 through December 2022. The cumulative incidence of LR, defined as recurrence within 5 cm of the surgical scar, was estimated using death as a competing event.
resultsAmong 447 patients, 393 (88%) were treated with surgery alone, and 54 (12%) also received adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) to the primary site. LR occurred in eight patients, with seven recurrences detected within 12 months of treatment. All recurrences occurred in patients treated with surgery alone for a 1-year LR rate of 1.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.8-3.6%). At a median follow-up of 8.8 years (95% CI 7.6-10) from presentation, of the six patients with LR alone, all treated with surgery and/or RT, four patients had no evidence of disease and two died of other causes. Two patients developed distant metastases at the time of LR; both received systemic therapy and died of disease. The low incidence of LR precluded analysis of risk factors.
conclusionsNegative-margin surgery without adjuvant RT provides excellent local control, with an LR rate of 1.8%. LR was effectively treated with surgery and/or RT. These data do not support the routine use of adjuvant RT for all patients after complete excision of primary MCC.
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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.