A Therapeutic and Diagnostic Multidisciplinary Pathway for Merkel Cell Carcinoma Patients

Marco Rastrelli; Paolo Del Fiore; Alessandra Buja; Antonella Vecchiato; Carlo Riccardo Rossi; Vanna Chiarion Sileni; Saveria Tropea; Francesco Russano; Manuel Zorzi; Romina Spina; Rocco Cappellesso; Renzo Mazzarotto; Francesco Cavallin; Franco Bassetto; Elisabetta Bezzon; Beatrice Ferrazzi; Mauro Alaibac; Simone Mocellin

doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.00529

A Therapeutic and Diagnostic Multidisciplinary Pathway for Merkel Cell Carcinoma Patients

Front Oncol. 2020 Apr 15:10:529. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00529. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Marco Rastrelli¹, Paolo Del Fiore¹, Alessandra Buja², Antonella Vecchiato¹, Carlo Riccardo Rossi^{1

3}, Vanna Chiarion Sileni⁴, Saveria Tropea¹, Francesco Russano¹, Manuel Zorzi⁵, Romina Spina¹, Rocco Cappellesso⁶, Renzo Mazzarotto⁷, Francesco Cavallin⁸, Franco Bassetto⁹, Elisabetta Bezzon¹⁰, Beatrice Ferrazzi¹¹, Mauro Alaibac¹², Simone Mocellin^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Surgical Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
² Department of Cardiological, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
³ Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology (DISCOG), University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
⁴ Melanoma Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
⁵ Veneto Tumour Registry, Azienda Zero, Padua, Italy.
⁶ Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology Unit, Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
⁷ Department of Surgery and Oncology, Unit of Radiotherapy, Hospital Trust of Verona, Verona, Italy.
⁸ Independent Statistician, Solagna, Italy.
⁹ Clinic of Plastic Surgery, Department of Neuroscience, Padua University Hospital, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
¹⁰ Radiology Unit, Department of Imaging and Medical Physics, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV IRCSS, Padua, Italy.
¹¹ Postgraduate School of Occupational Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
¹² Unit of Dermatology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.

Abstract

Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive neuroendocrine neoplasm of the skin. Due to its rarity, the management of MCC is not standardized across centers. In this article, we present the experience of the Veneto region in the North-East of Italy, where a committee of skin cancer experts has proposed a clinical pathway for the diagnosis and treatment of MCC. Putting together the evidence available in the international literature, we outlined the best approach to the management of patients affected with this malignancy step- by- step for each possible clinical situation. Crucial in this pathway is the role of the multidisciplinary team to deal with the lack of robust information on each aspect of the management of this disease.

Keywords: Merkel cancer; Merkel cell carcinoma; multidisciplinary team; non-melanoma skin cancers; therapeutic and diagnostic pathway.