Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Patient Support Center

A: First and foremost, while MCC is rare and dangerous, it is treatable. Due to a tremendous amount of work and research by dedicated health-care professionals, MCC treatment options and knowledge have surged.

What to do next:

The most important thing for you to do is to seek treatment at an academic center with specialized expertise in caring for people with MCC. Dermatologists, surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists need to confer to determine the best plan for a given case. It is important that they all understand the aggressiveness of MCC and all communicate with each other and you in a concise manner.

Find an MCC treatment center.

A: “It’s so important, for several reasons. Depending on your sources of data, MCC is three to five times more deadly than melanoma, so it’s a serious diagnosis. And, due to its rarity, a lot of physicians are not familiar with the specific care that’s indicated. Updated information is not in many textbooks because MCC management has been so rapidly evolving over the past five to 10 years. Going to a place that truly offers expert multidisciplinary care is very important.” – Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD

Dr. Nghiem is director of the Skin Oncology Clinical Program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and head of Dermatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Considered one of the foremost experts on MCC in the U.S., Dr. Nghiem has worked tirelessly to promote research and collaboration to create better outcomes for MCC patients.

A: “When the diagnosis of MCC comes up, most doctors and patients quickly realize this is something to take seriously. MCC is aggressive and dangerous, and we certainly like to get people into evaluation, scans and treatment within, say, two weeks — to get a good plan and act on it. But it is important not to rush; get the facts before you jump.” – Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD

A: Evidence of the Merkel cell polyomavirus can be found in about 80 percent of Merkel cell tumors. The virus, discovered in 2008, lives in the skin of most people, without signs and symptoms, and without ever developing into MCC. Since the virus is common and MCC is extremely rare, scientists are uncertain about how or why the virus causes the disease in some people.

Your care team can identify whether the virus is the cause of your MCC by administering the AMERK biomarker blood test. The test is also administered at intervals to check for increases in antibodies, to help detect recurrences early, when the tumor will be more effectively treatable. Learn more here.

A: MCC is about 40 times more rare than melanoma. Each year in the U.S., approximately 3,000 new cases of MCC are diagnosed.