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Merkel cell polyomavirus is uncommon in New Zealand Merkel cell carcinomas
Author(s) -
Woodhouse B.,
Robb T.J.,
Hearn J.I.,
Houseman P.S.,
Hayward G.,
Miller R.,
Restall A.P.,
Findlay M.,
Lawrence B.,
Print C.G.,
Parker K.,
Blenkiron C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/bjd.16903
Subject(s) - merkel cell polyomavirus , merkel cell , merkel cell carcinoma , polyomavirus infections , dermatology , cell , medicine , pathology , cell of origin , biology , carcinoma , genetics , kidney , bk virus , kidney transplantation
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is a rare skin tumour with an incidence of 0.88 per 100,000 people in New Zealand (NZ), one of the highest in the world1 and almost on par with close neighbours Australia2 . Current local diagnostic guidelines do not require analysis of the oncogenic Merkel Cell Polyoma Virus (MCPyV), therefore it has never been questioned whether the NZ-MCC MCPyV rate is similar to North American and European studies (40-89%) or indeed lower, as reported in Australian cohorts (18-24%) in which a UV-mediated etiology is dominant3-5 . To investigate the presence of the MCPyV in NZ-MCCs we established droplet digital PCR (ddPCR, Bio-Rad) assays to amplify viral gene LTA6 and gene expression of LTA, in parallel with a viral protein immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay using the commercial CM2B4 antibody4 . This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.