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Case Reports
. 2016 Oct 7;2016(10):rjw165.
doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjw165.

Cerebral metastases from Merkel cell carcinoma: long-term survival

S Honeybul  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Cerebral metastases from Merkel cell carcinoma: long-term survival

S Honeybul. J Surg Case Rep. .

Abstract

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare primary cutaneous neuroendocrine tumour that is locally aggressive. In most cases the primary treatment is local surgical excision; however, there is a high incidence recurrence both local and distant. Cerebral metastases from Merkel cell carcinoma are extremely uncommon with only 12 cases published in the literature. This case is particularly unusual in that, not only was no established primary lesion identified, but also the patient has survived for 10 years following initial diagnosis and for 9 years following excision of a single brain metastasis.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Axial T1 with Gadolinium MRI showing left temporal lesion.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
H&E stain for brain tissue, left. Immuno-stain for CK20, bottom right. Immuno-stain for CD56, upper right. ×400 magnification.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Axial T1 with Gadolinium MRI showing no evidence of recurrence at 10-year follow-up.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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