Blake A Williams, Matthew E Hardee, Laura F Hutchins, Sara Shalin and Ling Gao
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive skin cancer. Similar to melanoma, infiltration of CD8+ T cells is associated with an improved prognosis, which provides rationale for immunotherapy in MCC. This manuscript reports the first application of ipilimumab in the treatment of a MCC patient. In this case, combination treatment of a stage IV MCC patient with ipilimumab, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy resulted in stable disease. Unfortunately, the patient passed away from an unrelated cardiac event prior to being able to be fully evaluated for the effects of ipilimumab. Immunotherapy represents a promising treatment option for advanced cancers. Ongoing clinical trials should provide information regarding the efficacy of immunotherapy in otherwise often-lethal metastatic MCC.
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