What is the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC)?
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For patients with operable disease, most agree that surgery is the treatment of choice. As with most tumors, treatment is based on the stage. The Yiengpruksawan system is used here.
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@niraj Aggressive wide local excision is the treatment of choice for the primary tumor. A 2- to 3-cm margin is recommended because it is thought to decrease the risk of recurrence. (However, in a study of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, 35.4% of whom had primary head and neck lesions, Perez et al found that, in comparing resection margins of 1 cm, 1.1-1.9 cm, and 2 cm or more, the 1 cm margins were not associated with a greater rate of local recurrence or significantly different rates of disease-specific and overall survival