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Landscape of current and future therapies of Merkel cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Kwiatkowska Dominika,
Reich Adam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.13281
Subject(s) - merkel cell carcinoma , merkel cell polyomavirus , medicine , skin cancer , merkel cell , dermatology , carcinoma , oncology , cancer , cancer research
Merkel cell carcinoma is rare and aggressive skin cancer, which occurrence is linked to exposure to ultraviolet light and the Merkel‐cell polyomavirus. In recent years, significant progress in understanding the mechanism of Merkel cell carcinoma pathogenesis has been observed. This neoplasm often expresses PD‐L1, and MCPyV‐specific T cells can express PD‐1 thus PD‐1/PD‐L1 checkpoint therapies seem to be remarkably interesting treatment options. Many clinical trials are currently being conducted to confirm their effectiveness and safety for this group of patients. However, only about half of advanced Merkel cell carcinoma patients could achieve remission or disease stabilization through PD‐1/PD‐L1 checkpoint therapies thus innovative treatments are still needed. In this article, we have presented current and future directions in the development of Merkel cell carcinoma therapy.