Rush Zoe, Fields Ryan C, Lee Nancy, Brownell Isaac
Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
Expert Rev Dermatol. 2011 Aug;6(4):395-404. doi: 10.1586/edm.11.40.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous neuroendocrine neoplasm with a propensity for metastatic spread. When managing MCC, surgical excision is often the initial treatment. As MCC is generally radiosensitive, many institutions include adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in their standard treatment protocols. In the absence of prospective randomized clinical trials, a number of retrospective reports suggest that adjuvant RT can improve local and regional recurrence rates. Here, we provide an overview of recent studies on the use of RT in MCC treatment and explore the limits of the current knowledge. Ultimately, the benefits and risks associated with using RT in the treatment of MCC remain poorly described and merit more rigorous investigation.
默克尔细胞癌（MCC）是一种罕见的皮肤神经内分泌肿瘤，有发生转移扩散的倾向。在处理MCC时，手术切除通常是初始治疗方法。由于MCC一般对放疗敏感，许多机构在其标准治疗方案中纳入了辅助放射治疗（RT）。在缺乏前瞻性随机临床试验的情况下，一些回顾性报告表明辅助RT可提高局部和区域复发率。在此，我们概述了近期关于RT在MCC治疗中的应用研究，并探讨了当前知识的局限性。最终，与在MCC治疗中使用RT相关的益处和风险仍描述不足，值得更严格的研究。
