Fotia Giuseppe, Barni Roberto, Bellan Cristiana, Neri Alessandro
Department of Surgery and Biotechnology, University of Siena, Italy.
Tumori. 2002 Sep-Oct;88(5):424-6. doi: 10.1177/030089160208800516.
We report a case of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) presenting in the lymph nodes in the absence of a primary cutaneous site. The MCC was treated by palliative radiotherapy, which controlled the disease locally. Eight months after diagnosis a mass appeared on the ipsilateral knee; histopathological examination of this lesion confirmed the diagnosis of MCC. The patient died two months later due to the development of pulmonary metastases. Interestingly, the neoplastic tissue was confined to the regional lymph nodes for several months before the primary site appeared. Primary lymph nodal MCC is rare and the diagnosis is difficult. In our opinion the only way to make a diagnosis of primary lymph nodal MCC is by appropriate clinical follow-up.
我们报告了一例 Merkel 细胞癌（MCC），其在无原发性皮肤病灶的情况下出现在淋巴结中。该 MCC 通过姑息性放疗进行治疗，局部控制了病情。诊断后八个月，同侧膝盖出现一个肿块；该病变的组织病理学检查证实为 MCC 诊断。患者两个月后因肺转移而死亡。有趣的是，在原发部位出现之前，肿瘤组织局限于区域淋巴结数月。原发性淋巴结 MCC 罕见且诊断困难。我们认为，诊断原发性淋巴结 MCC 的唯一方法是进行适当的临床随访。
