ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2026
Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for 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 3 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- 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
- Anatomical lymphatic drainage basin and sentinel lymph node positivity in Merkel cell carcinoma: a 37-year single-center cohort study of 400 patients.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, cutaneous malignancy with a propensity for nodal metastasis, for which prognostic factors remain poorly characterized. PATIENTS AND
methodsAll patients treated from April 1996 through December 2022 by wide excision and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for clinically localized MCC at a single institution were included. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with a positive SLN, recurrence, and disease-specific death (DSD). Cumulative incidence functions estimated recurrence and DSD with death from other causes as a competing risk.
resultsOf 342 patients with MCC, 140 (41%) had a positive SLN. In multivariable analysis, tumor size > 2 cm, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and more recent diagnosis were significantly associated with a positive SLN. Among the lowest-risk patients (≤ 1 cm tumors and without LVI), 17% had a positive SLN. Most patients (86%) with a positive SLN received further nodal treatment. At 3 years, only 3% of these patients experienced a recurrence within the same nodal basin. A positive SLN was the only factor independently associated with recurrence (39% vs. 12% at 5 years, p < 0.001). The 5-year incidence of DSD was 3.5%, 10%, and 15% (p = 0.002) for patients with stage I, II, and IIIA disease, respectively.
conclusionsSLN biopsy for patients with MCC is frequently positive, which is associated with increased risk of recurrence and DSD. Even in the absence of identifiable risk factors for SLN metastasis, the SLN positivity rate is > 10%. SLNB appears to inform prognosis in MCC and guides exceptional regional control.
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