Merkel cell carcinoma patients presenting without a primary lesion have elevated markers of immunity, higher tumor mutation burden and improved survival.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to our knowledge to explore potential underlying immune-mediated mechanisms of MCC-UP presentation. In this cohort, MCC-UP patients were never immune suppressed, had higher oncoprotein antibody titers, and higher tumor mutational burdens. Additionally, we show that nodal tumors identified in MCC-UP patients did indeed arise from primary skin lesions as they contained abundant UV-signature mutations. These findings suggest that stronger underlying immunity against MCC contributes to primary lesion elimination and improved survival.
PMID: 29246939 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Clinical Cancer Research - December 15, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Vandeven NA, Lewis CW, Makarov V, Riaz N, Paulson KG, Hippe DS, Bestick A, Doumani R, Marx T, Takagishi SR, Chan TA, Choi J, Nghiem P Tags: Clin Cancer Res Source Type: research